Agência Brasil
Rio de Janeiro – João Havelange Olympic stadium, in the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro city, where the athletics competitions of the Pan-American Games 2007 will take place, is currently being graded and having the foundations worked on so that they may be ready by the end of June. The 117,000 square-meter area that belonged to the Federal Railway System was transferred to the state government and subsequently donated to the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB).
On visiting the construction site yesterday (13), city mayor César Maia, and the president of the COB, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, were satisfied with the evolution of the works and observed the removal of around 90 wagons that had been abandoned at the site many years ago. "This is going to be one of the main locations for the Pan-American Games, and should attract the largest crowds," stated Nuzman.
Mayor Cesar Maia took advantage of his presence at the construction site and recorded a message, in Spanish, about the evolution of site construction. His message will be presented at the Pan-American Sports Organization (PASO) meeting to take place between April 19 and 23 in San Antonio, Texas.
With total cost estimated at around US$ 60 million, financed by Rio de Janeiro city hall, works for construction of the Olympic stadium began in December, and should be ready by the end of June 2005. The complex will have a capacity for 45,000 spectators, a building for parking, and an area destined to stores and restaurants.
Nuzman and Cesar Maia later visited the Pan-American Villa in the Barra da Tijuca neighbourhood. The Villa and the stadium are the main installations for Pan Rio 2007. The villa will house up to 8,240 people during the Pan. There will be 25 residential buildings and other support buildings. The estimated cost of the construction is around US$ 120 million, financed by the federal government, and should be ready up to December 2006. After the Pan, the villa will be made into a residential condominium.
