January 31, 200917 yr Seems to me a crime to build a $450 million dollar staduim and not use it. Do they only have one soccer team that will draw in the masses? Maybe they can hold badminton or ping pong matches? BEIJING (AP)—The area around Beijing’s massive Bird’s Nest stadium will be turned into a shopping and entertainment complex in three to five years, a state news agency said Friday. Officially known as Beijing National Stadium, the showpiece of the Beijing Olympics has fallen into disuse since the end of the games. Paint is already peeling in some areas, and the only visitors these days are tourists who pay about $7 to walk on the stadium floor and browse a pricey souvenir shop. Plans call for the $450 million stadium to anchor a complex of shops and entertainment outlets in three to five years, Xinhua News Agency reported, citing operator Citic Group. The company will continue to develop tourism as a major draw for the Bird’s Nest, while seeking sports and entertainment events. The only confirmed event at the 91,000-seat stadium this year is Puccini’s opera “Turandot,” set for Aug. 8—the one-year anniversary of the Olympics’ opening ceremony. The stadium has no permanent tenant after Beijing’s top soccer club, Guo’an, backed out of a deal to play there. Details about the development plans were not available. A person who answered the phone at Citic Group on Friday said offices were closed for the Chinese New Year holiday. A symbol of China’s rising power and confidence, the stadium, whose nickname described its lattice of exterior steel beams, may never recoup its hefty construction cost, particularly amid a global economic slump. Maintenance of the structure alone costs about $8.8 million annually, making it difficult to turn a profit, Xinhua said.
January 31, 200917 yr Maybe they can hold badminton or ping pong matches? In a 91,000 seat venue??? They'd need monster diamond vision screens just to enable spectators to see the balls and (shuttle)cocks But I agree it seems totally ridiculous to build such a stadium without considering its future use. Mind you, that seems also to be the fate of some other Olympic sites - notably in Athens.
January 31, 200917 yr They cost of the Olympics and the upkeep of the site is just going to be one more thing the Party is going to have to explain when China's economy crashes. I truly believe that both the Party and China are going to undergo some radical changes due to the world"s economic decline.
January 31, 200917 yr I truly believe that both the Party and China are going to undergo some radical changes I suspect few will disagree with that view. With the collapse of so many export markets, China is going to have to spend vast sums to keep most people in some kind of work. Does that mean, I wonder, that it will start to repatriate some of its massive overseas foreign currency holdings - i.e its US$s? And if that happens, what then happens to the value of the dollar?
February 2, 200917 yr In a 91,000 seat venue??? They'd need monster diamond vision screens just to enable spectators to see the balls and (shuttle)cocks I was not serious when suggesting badminton or ping pong. Besides football, those were the only two sports I could think of that are popular in China. Any other suggestions?
February 2, 200917 yr I was not serious when suggesting badminton or ping pong. Besides football, those were the only two sports I could think of that are popular in China. Any other suggestions? Yes, Basketball! They love it very very much. Not that it would work in a stadium like that but if you wanted another sport they love basketball is it!
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