Tokyo's National Stadium still in doubt

The project was supposed to be privatized after the Olympics to reduce the cost to taxpayers, but has fallen far behind schedule and is showing no signs of getting back on track.

The question of stadium's future use was raised in an April 21 House of Councilors committee meeting.

Renho, a senior member of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said there is concern that this legacy will be a loss-making inheritance.

In 2019, a year before the Olympics were originally supposed to take place, the government decided on a concrete privatization plan to recruit potential businesses to take over the venue. That timeline hit a snag the same year.

The stadium's detailed plans could not be disclosed to interested businesses for security reasons. The privatization project was put off until after the Olympics because of that.

The plan entered the phase of soliciting opinions from interested businesses last November, but there was no plan.

The annual price tag for maintenance, administration and large-scale repairs for the stadium was completed in November 2019, but Japan's Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister Shinsuke Suematsu said that it would not occur until 2.4 billion yen $18.8 million.

He said recently that we're not at the stage where we can give a definite schedule.

A major hurdle is the lack of a concrete plan for the venue's future use. The original plan was for the athletics track to be removed and the stadium converted to an 80,000 seat venue for soccer and rugby.

That policy has since done an about-face.

The National Stadium's future appears to be a multipurpose athletics venue, between Japan bidding to host the 2025 world athletics championships, and the huge cost of remodeling.

Leave the running track where it is currently being used will keep fans far from the action in the centre of the stadium and reduce its value as the host of rugby and soccer matches.

The stadium's limited value as a concert venue is part of the equation due to noise concerns for its surrounding neighborhood.

The appeal to private enterprises is very low, and the National Stadium can't make a profit, one official said.

Even the most attention is attracted to the National Stadium dilemma, but there are still issues with the venues of the Tokyo Olympics.

The venue for canoe and rowing, Tokyo Bay's Sea Forest Waterway, was opened on April 29 for general public use. A spokesman said the park's expansive views along the bayside are a draw card, and the facility looks to host a wide range of activities, including musical events.

There is a downside to access. There is no train station or commercial complex nearby. The scarcity of other options nearby may limit its appeal, even though the facility appears ideal for various water activities and barbeques by the bay.