Construction of stadium for 2020 Tokyo Olympics completed at cost of ¥157 bil

Bear in mind that 157 Billion Yen is just the cost of this one stadium. The total cost of the games is estimated at about 2.5 trillion Yen and counting.

The whole thing is a disgraceful waste.

¥157 billion plus the money still owed to the company which designed the original planned stadium.

Gotta hand it to them for finishing this on time and ahead of schedule.

Bit Taro and Hanako across the bay probably don't really care sitting in their roofless house since they can't find any construction workers available.

Meanwhile, many still in shelters from March 11th, 2011... you know, the date, people, and disasters the government used as "proof of reconstruction" in its desperation to get the bid.

1.25billion dollars just to build a 60K seat stadium? And have that money to build a stadium rather than helping out 311 and flood victims. What a nice country!

Looks like the painters missed a bit

This aerial photo is actually a bad angle because you can't see any of the wood they've used. The wood aside, the design is pretty much the same as any modern stadium you'd find anywhere. Since it cost a lot and is projected to run at a loss, even assuming that it takes events away from other barely breakeven stadia, its hard to be that enthusiastic about it.

@rainyday About 20,000 for every man woman and child in Japan. Well that is where the extra sales tax money is going.

It's beautiful! Looks like a big white elephant!

Money well spent

Money spent, certainly.

Given a choice, I think I’d prefer the ¥20,000 and a lower tax rate.

How good is the air con in the stadium?

I think this was about the cost to rebuild Yankee Stadium.

Completed at a cost of about 157 billion yen ($1.25 billion), the stadium, which can accommodate 60,000, will also host the athletics and soccer events during the Games.

Only 60,000? That's not a lot of seats for 1.25 billion, and not a huge Olympic stadium.

Does anyone have any idea how they'll manage hosting soccer alongside the track and field events? The field markings for the athletic field events as well as the soccer pitch are hardly temporary. Is it just the soccer final?

I wonder who photo-shopped this picture? I mean really, at the time they tool the picture, it was either around sunrise or sunset, and what, maybe 3 freaking cars on the road, in downtown Tokyo?

All stadia with running tracks are terrible for ball sports. You are too far from the pitch. It's actually good that the rugby wasn't held here. There would have been far less atmosphere.

Gotta hand it to them for finishing this on time and ahead of schedule.

Huh? It was supposed to host matches for the Rugby Cup, but construction was behind schedule and it proved useless for its first job.

In America something like this would take 5 years

Yes, same in Japan. In this case, rugby matches had to be hosted elsewhere because they couldn't complete their main stadium on time.

I think all the talk about using natural materials is almost a con trick, especially in regards to the roof.

The lattice supporting the roof, as far as I understand, is actually steel clad in wood... which seems almost ridiculous.

Surely the wood is purely cosmetic... in fact unnecessary.

It's a standard steel stadium roof, pretending to be shrine roof or something like that.

Also, a big thing is being made about this "cosmetic wood" in the roof being sourced in Japan.

However, it has been pointed out that the vast majority of the huge amount of plywood used for laying concrete in the building was sourced from rainforests!!

Outrageous.

Zaha's original was much funkier, and had a capacity of 80,000. 60,000 is too little for a grillion or so creds. Those concourses are supposed to have greenery oozing out of them by 2020, might make it look better.

It's the Olympics, so if you are going to make it expensive, you might as well make it silly.

All stadia with running tracks are terrible for ball sports. You are too far from the pitch. It's actually good that the rugby wasn't held here.

The Yokohama stadium that it was held at also has a running track around it. It's an incredibly average venue. Very few soccer / rugger stadiums here don't have them.

I walked around it last week. Very nice!!!

good job to every single person involved in the construction of this stadium but . . . . . . any football stadium in Europe can be compared to this . . . ( even a category 3 (UEFA) football stadium (4 is the highest) rivals this ) . . . 157 billion yen for this huh . . . 60000 seats... that ,s peanuts in Europe or in the US...

They never did factor in a place to insert the Olympic flame, though, right?

OMG, there is no parking lot.

No fan of all this Olympics spending, but at least they built this design and not the bicycle helmet monstrosity that they first had decided on.

Samit Basu:

Where is the Olympic cauldron? No Olympic flame because that's bad for an wooden structure?

There will be more than one site to be used for Olympic cauldron.

One, of course, will be inside the new stadium and the other perhaps on the Tokyo's water front or other game venues. However, the flame will only be displayed in one location at a time.

During the opening and closing ceremonies, it will be in the stadium, perhaps at the center of the ground.

https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1073451/tokyo-2020-confirms-it-will-use-olympic-flame-cauldrons-in-stadium-and-on-the-waterfront

One, of course, will be inside the new stadium and the other perhaps on the Tokyo's water front or other game venues. However, the flame will only be displayed in one location at a time.

According to the BBC it could also be because it would violate fire codes!

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35729630

￥157 billion! It is understandable that everything is very expensive in Japan.

why is everyone so negative

SpeedNov. 19 04:13 pm JSTGotta hand it to them for finishing this on time and ahead of schedule.

In America something like this would take 5 years. And in my hometown the road construction hasn't been finished for over 30 years!

techallNov. 19 09:58 pm JSTSo why are all those people in a stadium that has not gone through final quality inspection and not certified safe?

The magic of Photoshop technology.

zichi A better comparison would be with Wembley, the national stadium for football.

And isn't Wembley the stadium in the UK that everyone wants to play in, as a sign of prestige? I have a 2 CD/1 DVD set of Jeff Lynne's ELO live at Wembley and an INXS live CD partially recorded there as well. Just asking.

Where is the Olympic cauldron? No Olympic flame because that's bad for an wooden structure?

Looks Great! Tokyo 2020!

Meanwhile, many still in shelters from March 11th, 2011... 

In what cities? To my knowledge, pretty much everybody has been moved out of the temporary housing, though I do see a little bit of temporary office space being used. (eg. the Rikuzentakada city office).

**not that I disagree with the sentiment that Tokyo 2020 investment could have been MUCH better spent.

"Huh? It was supposed to host matches for the Rugby Cup, but construction was behind schedule and it proved useless for its first job."

Huh? The original design was scrapped because of a public outcry over spiraling costs and the original deadline was scrapped with it. The new stadium was given a new deadline, which it met.

Also from the article:

The National Stadium is one of eight new venues to be used at the Tokyo Games. All of them are either complete or on schedule to be finished before the event.

What say you?

Money well spent!

Wow! The National Stadium looks fabulous! I honestly have never seen a better designed Stadium anywhere in the world. The soccer team I support, Liverpool, has a great Stadium, Anfield. But National Stadium is far superior.

What an amazing legacy for the children of Japan. This Stadium will be used for 100 years.

why is everyone so negative

Jealousy.