Japan Press Weekly

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2021 July 14 - 27 [POLITICS]

Prospects of national stadium's profitability after Olympics are gloomy

Utilization of the National Stadium, the main venue for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, after the Summer Games is not determined yet. About 2.4 billion yen a year is expected to be necessary to maintain the stadium. The question is whether the post-Olympic stadium will turn a profit.

The government in November 2017 announced that it will renovate the National Stadium to be used as a soccer stadium with its capacity of seating 80,000 after the Olympics. The government at that time said that it will actively utilize the stadium for football and rugby competitions, concerts, and civic sporting contests as well as for the Soccer World Cup.

However, in October 2020, the government changed its initial plan. It said that it will not remove athletics tracks from the stadium. When World Athletics President Sebastian Coe visited Japan, he suggested that the 2025 World Athletics Championship be held in the stadium. At the same time, he said that growing momentum in Japan to keep an athletics track field should be required. Now that the Olympic Games are taking place without spectators, it is doubtful if the momentum will continue. In addition, the athletics sub-track which was temporarily built near the stadium is planned to be removed after the Olympics and Paralympics, and therefore, it will be necessary to construct a new sub-track in order to host international athletics competitions in the stadium.

The JV including Taisei Corporation which constructed the National Stadium estimates that repair, maintenance, and operation costs of the stadium for the next 50 years will total about 120 billion yen. Given that not many events will be able to fill the 80,000-seat stadium and that audience size will be restricted for the time being under the COVID-19 situation, outlook for the stadium's profitability is gloomy.