SPORTS
Page 8 n THE ASIAN REPORTER
June 16, 2014
To demolish or design: Japan split on 2020 stadium
By Elaine Kurtenbach
AP Business Writer
OKYO — As Tokyo prepares to
demolish the half-century old
stadium that hosted the first
Olympics in Asia, debate is raging over
whether
the
colossal,
futuristic
replacement planned for the 2020 Games
will help revitalize or indelibly mar
Japan’s famous capital.
Tokyo, the frenetic center of a
mega-metropolitan area of 36 million
people, is planning an ambitious reboot on
par with its last big reincarnation for the
Olympics in 1964. Those games were the
catalyst for a far-reaching makeover of
Tokyo and marked Japan’s reemergence
as an Asian power following its defeat in
World War II.
Today, Japan faces altered circum-
stances. Its population is aging and
shrinking. The economy, overtaken in size
by China, has stagnated for two decades.
National
debt
has
reached
epic
proportions.
The Olympics building spree could be a
welcome boon for the economy. But there
are doubts over the costs and scale of some
of the proposed projects, especially an
80,000-seat
stadium
designed
by
British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid that
was the centerpiece of Tokyo’s 2020 bid.
Detractors of the new stadium, a whopping
70 meters (230 feet) tall, say it clashes with
Tokyo’s urban planning and represents a
“bigger is better” mentality that doesn’t fit
Japan’s 21st-century limitations.
Even Tokyo’s governor, Yoichi Masuzoe,
who is among the biggest boosters of the
Olympics, has seemed noncommittal. The
plan requires cooperation between the
Japan Sports Council, an arm of the
central government that owns the existing
stadium, the Tokyo government which
owns the land the bigger stadium will
occupy, and Tokyo Olympics organizers.
Prominent
architects
and
other
opponents are petitioning the government
to upgrade the existing stadium. Built in
1958, it hosted an Olympics remembered
as the first to be televised internationally
by satellite, but now is showing its age.
An online poll by the Nikkei financial
T
newspaper found more than 60 percent
opposed to building the new stadium. The
self-selecting survey might overstate
opposition.
Apart from cost, critics are unhappy
with Hadid’s signature sweeping-curves
design, which many say resembles a
bicycle helmet, and the stadium’s size. It
will have about four times the floor space of
the current stadium and dominate the
surrounding area of parks and other sports
facilities.
“This is not just about the stadium, but
about Japan’s entire culture,” said
Shinichi Nakazawa, an anthropologist
and popular social commentator. “We have
a responsibility for the legacy we leave
behind.”
The sports council has already scaled
back the original proposal to spend 300
billion yen ($3 billion) on a 75-meter-tall
stadium to a still hefty 169 billion yen ($1.7
billion). Hakubun Shimomura, a cabinet
minister, deemed the first plan “too
massive.”
That step back, however, is not giving
hope to the retrofitting campaign, which
admits its efforts might already be
quixotic.
The sports council has scheduled
demolition to begin in July. Even before
the final “sayonara” concerts last month,
workers were levelling parking spaces for
construction equipment and had removed
boulders and other landscaping from the
fringes of the park next to the stadium.
Ichiro Kono, a top official at the council,
has insisted the basic design plan “will not
change.”
“We don’t have much time,” said
Nakazawa. “This is a very bad situation.
We are right at the limit.”
Nakazawa, scores of other architects,
and critics of Hadid’s design say upgrading
the national stadium to increase its
capacity from 54,000 people to the
required 80,000 can be done at half the cost
of a new structure.
Big new projects can generate jobs and
revenues, but they also eat up taxpayer
money, no small concern with Japan’s
public debt at more than twice the size of
the national economy. And then there’s the
abundance of costly, underused former
Olympic venues such as Beijing’s Bird’s
Nest stadium.
Japanese media reports say it will cost
about 4.6 billion yen ($45 million) to oper-
ate and maintain the new stadium, com-
pared with the current cost of 500 million
yen to 700 million yen ($5 million to $7
million). The sports council says it expects
some $5 million in annual revenues from
events will cover the higher cost.
Architectural
economist
Takashi
Moriyama said the 2020 Games are an
Samantha Kerr voted NWSL Player of the Week
Samantha Kerr, a forward for the
Western New York Flash of the
National Women’s Soccer League
(NWSL), was voted the league’s
Player of the Week during Week 9 of
the season.
Kerr, who has Indian heritage, is a
member of the Australia Women’s
National Team that last month placed
second in the AFC Women’s Asian
Cup held in Vietnam. Australia beat
Korea Republic 2-1 in the semifinal,
but lost to world champion Japan 0-1
in the final match.
During a road trip to Portland
shortly after returning from Vietnam,
20-year-old Kerr scored two goals and
gave an assist in Western New York’s
5-0 win over Portland at Providence
Park.
With the win in Portland, the Flash
set NWSL records for the largest
margin of victory and biggest road
win. It also tied the record for most
goals in a game as well as most goals
scored by an away team. Kerr’s two
goals in the match were her second
and third of the season.
Already up 2-0, Kerr extended her
team’s lead over Portland when she
headed a corner kick off the post and
then headed the rebound into the goal
in the 32nd minute. Just before
halftime, she gave the Flash a 4-0 lead
after playing a one-two pass to team-
STADIUM SCHISM. Fans support their team
before a rugby match between Japan and Hong Kong
at the National Stadium, which was used as the main
stadium in the 1964 Olympics. Tokyo, the frenetic
center of a mega-metropolitan area of 35 million peo-
ple, is planning an ambitious reboot on par with its
last big reincarnation for the Olympics in 1964. Those
games were the catalyst for a far-reaching makeover
of Tokyo and marked Japan’s reemergence as an
Asian power following its defeat in World War II.
(AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
ideal opportunity to promote environ-
mentally sound methods of renovating
older buildings. Japan’s 15,000 public
buildings that need updating are a market
potentially worth some 50 trillion yen
($500 billion), he said.
“Japan is heading in exactly the opposite
direction,’ said Pritzker-Prize-winning
architect Toyo Ito, whose own design entry
was not chosen. “This plan, how did they
decide this was the way to go?”
But Tokyo is one of the world’s biggest
and wealthiest cities and many here
believe it should have a stadium to match
that stature.
Those in favor of a new stadium also
contend that project would allow Japan to
showcase its architectural prowess.
“This will enable us to demonstrate our
leading technologies. We certainly should
realize this goal,” said Junji Ogura,
honorary chairman of the Japan Football
Association.
Masuzoe, the Tokyo governor, said he
plans to consult the management of the
Meiji Shrine before making any decisions,
including the infrastructure the city must
provide to support the stadium. The
shrine, built to venerate the Meiji Emperor
who oversaw Japan’s leap into the modern
age, is part of an expansive green belt that
includes the stadium, baseball fields,
tennis courts, gardens, and galleries. Its
management has not voiced any
opposition to Hadid’s design.
The stadium must be able to accom-
modate 80,000 spectators, said Masuzoe.
“If not, you cannot meet the condition
enforced by the IOC.”
Still, Masuzoe said he won’t be rushing
his decision.
“We have not yet started the open
deliberation and consultations,” he said. “I
will decide in one year’s time.”
Spoelstra reacts to Pacquiao
becoming hoop coach
By Tim Reynolds
AP Basketball Writer
M
PLAYER OF THE WEEK. Forward Samantha Kerr (right) of the Western New York Flash and
defender Emily Menges (#21) of Portland Thorns FC watch the ball in the penalty area at a match
between the two squads on Saturday, June 7 at Portland’s Providence Park. Kerr was voted Player of
the Week during Week 9 of the National Women’s Soccer League’s regular season. (AR Photo/Jan
Landis)
mate Jasmyne Spencer then hitting a honor is voted on by a selection of
left-footed
shot
past
Portland journalists who cover the league on a
consistent basis.
goalkeeper Michelle Betos.
To learn more about the league,
In the 50th minute, Kerr con-
tributed to her team’s fifth goal visit <www.nwslsoccer.com>. To buy
with an assist to midfielder Carli tickets to an upcoming Thorns FC
match, call (503) 553-5555 or visit
Lloyd.
The NWSL Player of the Week <www.portlandthornsfc.com>.
IAMI — Erik Spoelstra might not be the
Philippines’ favorite basketball coach
anymore.
Manny Pacquiao is taking over as a basketball coach
in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The
longtime boxing champion was introduced this month as
the coach of a new Kia team in the league, with the
season opening in October.
Spoelstra is wildly popular in the Philippines, as the
Filipino-American coach of the two-time NBA champion
Miami Heat. But even he acknowledges his status might
have been surpassed by superstar Pacquiao.
“Well, I’m not taking a boxing job,” said Spoelstra, who
has close ties to his mother’s homeland. “But I know he’s
a huge basketball fan, so it doesn’t surprise me.”
Pacquiao’s love for basketball is no secret, and he said
in the Philippines earlier this month that he was taking
the coaching position seriously.
“A great responsibility,” Pacquiao said.
That being said, his next fight is scheduled for
November, or shortly after the PBA season begins. The
opponent remains unclear, though there’s speculation it
could be a fifth bout against Juan Manuel Marquez.
Pacquiao has been fighting professionally since age 16
and is 56-5-2 in his brilliant career.
Spoelstra is planning to visit the Philippines this
summer and might cross paths with Pacquiao.
But a Spoelstra-Pacquiao coaching matchup is
probably not going to happen. Spoelstra simply shook
his head at that farfetched notion.
“I’ll hopefully be able to see him this summer, see
what’s up,” Spoelstra said. “Maybe I’ll check out a
practice.”