(ATR) The Rio de Janeiro State financial crisis continues to affect venues from the 2016 Olympics.
Deodoro
On Jan. 10 the AP reported that the Deodoro Sports Complex in Rio de Janeiro had been closed by city hall. The park had closed after the contract with its operator was cancelled by the new municipal government.
Before the Olympics, Rio de Janeiro acting-governor Francisco Dornelles declared a "financial state of calamity" to trigger a federal bailout to fund state services through the Games. As the Brazilian financial crisis continues, reports from Brazil say Rio state continues to negotiate a bailout from the federal government, as the state struggles to pay its employees.
After the Games, Deodoro was supposed to serve as a park for one of the poorest communities in Rio de Janeiro. Organizers consistently touted the area had one of the youngest populations in the city and was severely lacking recreational areas. The legacy of the park was to have green space, bike paths, a skate park, picnic areas, a museum dedicated to environmental legacy and a public swimming pool.
Post Games Plans
The canoe slalom portion of the park was used as a swimming pool during the summer months in the run up to the 2016 Olympics. At the time then-Rio mayor Eduardo Paes called the park a "beach serving an area of a long-abandoned city."
Requests for comment from Around the Rings to the Rio municipal government about the state of the pool were not returned.
Barra Olympic Park, Maracana
Along with Deodoro, the Barra Olympic Park and the Maracanã stadium have had legacy plans change drastically in the wake of the financial crisis.
In the last days of Paes’ mandate the Brazilian sports ministry took over administration of the Barra Olympic Park. Initially Rio had hoped for a private contractor to assume control of stadium management. The bid process failed to yield any companies willing to meet the costs for a 25-year lease.
The federal government will manage two of the Carioca Arenas, the tennis center, the velodrome and the dismantling of the Future Arena to be re-purposed as part of the agreement.
Rio’s iconic Maracanã Stadium is now without an operator as a row between Rio 2016 and the stadium’s concessionaire continues. The consortium that runs the stadium on tender from the state government has refused to re-assume control of the stadium until Rio 2016 makes repairs needed after Olympic use. Rio 2016 says they will complete repairs, but says no deadline was ever set.
Rio 2016 director of communications Mario Andrada told ATR that the repairs did not affect the day to day operation of the stadium, and would be done after other creditors were paid off.
Without an operator the Maracanã has seen power outages, leading to the degradation of the stadium’s pitch. In addition, robbers have begun looting the stadium. Items stolen include televisions and historical busts including that of famous journalist Mário Filho, according to reports from Brazilian news outlet G1. The stadium bears Filho's name.
The Maracanã was expected to be used for the 2017 Rio de Janeiro State Football Championship which runs from Jan. 11 to May 7.
Written by Aaron Bauer
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