This week has seen two more quite visible delays in World Cup 2014 projects, one caused by success on the field and the other by weakness off it.
In Rio, the state secretary for sport, tourism and leisure, Márcia Lins, has revealed that work on Maracanã will now not begin until after August 2010 to allow Flamengo to use the ground for its Copa Libertadores matches, following the team's strong end to the 2009 Brazilian season and subsequent classification for the South American clubs tournament. The Maracanã upgrade had been scheduled to begin in December 2009 but has been delayed until March 2010, with the initial, external works to allow the stadium to remain in use until August, when it will close until the completion of works. The additional difficulties involved with working on an operational stadium are still being considered by the planning committee and architects.
In Cuiabá, which sits in the exact centre of South America and is the capital of the state of Mato Grosso (thick bush), the tender period for developers of the city's new stadium has been extended six weeks to allow more groups to submit their proposals. The tender was supposed to close Wednesday 9/12 but organisers decided that the 18 submitted bids were not sufficient and that the additional time will not affect the project start date, currently scheduled for February 2010.
Also in Cuiabá, the public release of plans for the new World Cup-standard stadium show a strong focus on sustainability - economic, social and environmental. The project, by Sao Paulo's GCP Architects, involves a flexible, demountable facility which will eventually be reduced to around 70% of its World Cup-mode capacity of 43,000 spectators. The design also features a strong focus on ventilation systems to help cope with the region's sweltering summers, while another key to the project is the stadium's integration with the surrounding areas, with plans to create a new urban centre post-2014. The entire project is currently budgeted at R$440 million.