24 Jun 2014
Warm up tennis event in Rio postponed because of construction delay
BY Tom Anstey
A warm up event for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games has been postponed by four months, thanks in large part due to delays in construction on the new Olympic Tennis Centre.
The test had been initially scheduled to take place in August 2015 but will now be held in December of that year.
Last month, a senior International Olympic Committee official said Rio de Janeiro’s preparations for the 2016 summer games were the worst he’d ever seen, with rumours swirling that London had been contacted as a back up to host the event should preparations in Rio fall through.
The US$46m (€33.8m, US$27.1m) Rio tennis facility – designed by AECOM – will have a 10,000-seat center court, two temporary stadiums that can seat 5,000 and 3,000 spectators and support and warm-up courts that hold 250 people.The facility is scheduled to hold the tennis events for the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the wheelchair tennis events for the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
The Olympic Tennis Centre will be part of the Olympic Training Centre (OTC), a key legacy of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Other structures being created for the 2016 event include the Olympic Aquatics Stadium, Olympic Hall, Olympic Velodrome and an Olympic Golf Course.
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