‘Stadium will remain incomplete’
The roof of the stadium for opener will not be fixed on time, says the company working on project
SAO PAULO: The roof of the stadium hosting the World Cup opener in a few weeks will not be fully finished in time for the tournament, constructors said Friday.
Construction company Odebrecht confirmed that a part of the roof at the Itaquerao will only be completed after the World Cup.
There was not enough time to install the glass covers that were supposed to be added to the stadium’s roofing structure, so Odebrecht and local organisers decided to postpone the work until after the tournament.
Odebrecht said the missing covers will not affect fans watching matches in the stadium, although it appears from photos that more people would be covered from rain if they were in place.
Also Friday, the company in charge of 20,000 temporary seats needed for the opener said it successfully addressed all health and safety issues that had prompted prosecutors to threaten to halt work at the venue.
Odebrecht said in an email sent to The Associated Press that “the glass covers will only be installed after the World Cup” because “transparency studies” were still being finalized to make sure the covers can allow the passage of the proper amount of light needed to “preserve the pitch in good conditions.”
The metal structures where the glasses have to be installed are in place but they will be empty by the time the nearly 70,000 fans and guests arrive for the high-profile opener between
AS THE GLASS COVER IS STILL NOT INSTALLED, NOT ALL FANS IN SEATS BEHIND THE GOALS WILL BE FULLY COVERED IN CASE OF RAIN
Brazil and Croatia on June 12. The venue will host five World Cup matches, including one of the semifinals.
Odebrecht said the roof itself is ready and guaranteed that the covers are not essential, even though they were part of the initial project.
The company had already said that not all fans in the temporary seats behind the goals will be fully covered from rain.
The local World Cup organis- ing committee said it was not a requirement to have stadiums with all of their seats covered.
“The architectural project of the Arena de Sao Paulo, as of the other 11 stadiums, is not intended to have 100 percent of the fans protected from rain,” the committee said in a statement. “That is only possible in stadiums completely covered.”
Fifa did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CRUCIAL TEST FOR TWO TROUBLED STADIA
Brazil arrives at a crucial moment in its preparations for the World Cup as two of its most troubled stadiums stage major test events on Sunday.
With Fifa closely monitoring, local organisers will host Brazilian league matches at the Arena Pantanal in the western city of Cuiaba and at the Itaquerao.
The official test events are likely the last before all 12 World Cup stadiums are turned over to Fifa for their final preparations ahead of the June 12 inaugural match. Only 40,000 tickets were put on sale for Corinthians’ match against Figueirense because some of the 20,000 temporary seats needed for the opener are still being installed.