(ATR) The Deodoro Radical Park will open to the Carioca public on September 21, run by the city of Rio de Janeiro.
A city hall spokesperson confirmed to Around the Rings the park’s opening date, and that the municipal Under Secretary of Sports and Leisure will operate the park. Bidding for a private operator remains underway, although the city decided to open the park before an operator could be found.
Deodoro had been closed since December 2016 after the previous municipal administration could not find a new operator to run the park. The Radical Park consists of the BMX, canoe slalom and mountain biking venues from the Rio 2016 Olympics. Its legacy was intended to be a public park for the poorer population of the city’s north zone, including a public pool.
"The idea is to open the park gradually," Roberta Pinto, a spokesperson from the Under Secretary of Sports and Leisure, said to ATR. "Initially the BMX track will be designed for high performance and the pool, without the rapids, will be open to the public."
City Hall decided to open the park before finding a private operator because the administration "understands the importance of opening this sports equipment as a legacy," Pinto says. To prepare for the re-opening, City Hall had opened tenders on contracts for cleaning the park.
Media reports in Brazil had described an alligator living in the canoe slalom venue, and the park was in an abandoned state before cleanup began. Local reports say that the park will only be opened on Sundays, in an attempt to keep the costs of running the park down. Eventually, the park will be open more days of the week to accommodate the local population.
The Radical Park had been open as its legacy intended only for a short time before the 2016 Olympic Games. From December 2015 to April 2016 the pool was open to the public, before it closed to allow for temporary Olympic construction. At the time Brazilian political leaders called the project a "beach to an abandoned city." The park was then reopened after the 2016 Olympics, for the Pan-American canoe slalom championships.
Written by Aaron Bauer
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