The far from smooth process of getting venues ready in time for the Rio Olympics in August is causing anxiety for ITF President David Haggerty.
Brazil has been troubled by major issues in the build up to the 31st Olympic Games. An outbreak of the mosquito-based Zika virus earlier this year prompted the Brazilian army to come out and help in the fight against it by spraying disinfectant to kill the insects. The country’s economy contracted by 3.8% in 2015, triggering one of the biggest economic crises for decades. Meanwhile, Brazil’s president, Dilma Rousseff, is facing an impeachment vote after the discovery of widespread corruption in politics.
Regardless of Brazil’s ongoing crises, Olympic organizers have continuously maintained that the games will go ahead. The only issue is, some of the venues are yet to be finished. The tennis tournament will take place at the Olympic Tennis Center. A newly built venue that features a 18,250 capacity stadium court as well as 15 outside tennis courts.
The Olympic tennis venue is yet to be finished. Organizers still need to lay another coat on the tennis courts and more importantly, they are yet to install any lighting at the venue. A number of the matches will occur at night, making lighting a critical feature. Speaking about the current state of the venue, Haggerty told media in Switzerland that he will remain worried ‘until the lights are installed’.
“Things are progressing, but they are not finished,” he said at the SportAccord Convention according to insidethegames.biz.
“When you have night matches and you don’t have lights, that could be a problem.
“The lights are not yet installed and until they are I will be worried”.
Haggerty is scheduled to travel to Brazil next month. The American confirmed that he will be hosting meetings with contractors concerning the venue.
“They have a plan in place and we have a team that is dedicated there,” Haggerty empathized.
“The Court surface needs another coat and that’s in the works. It should have been delivered about the time I arrive.”
“I will have meetings with local contractors and having had the experience of running the US Open, I know that sometimes things don’t always look like they will get done but they do.”
The Olympic Games will get underway on August 5th. The tennis competition will start on the 6th with 172 players participating in five events.
