By MASASHI SHIMIZU/ Staff Writer
December 28, 2022 at 17:50 JST
The National Stadium on Aug. 9, 2021, the day after the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
The Japan Sports Agency on Dec. 28 said it will subsidize operating costs of the National Stadium by up to 1 billion yen ($7.46 million) a year, even after the private sector takes over the facility.
The agency hopes the announcement will get more private companies interested in running the stadium, the main venue of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, a representative said.
Currently, the Japan Sport Council, an independent administrative agency, is maintaining and managing the stadium.
The budget for fiscal 2022 earmarked 1.84 billion yen for those tasks. But revenue from stadium operations is only an estimated 550 million yen.
The JSC is expected to continue paying the annual rent of about 1 billion yen for the land where the stadium stands even after a private company or group takes over operations.
Overall, up to about 2 billion yen in taxpayers’ money will be spent on the stadium annually.
By the end of fiscal 2022, the JSC is expected to start market research on private companies interested in operating the stadium, followed by an open bidding process in fiscal 2023.
The JSC plans to hand over stadium operations in fiscal 2024.
The JSA also said it has decided to keep the running tracks in the stadium.
Officials initially promised to renovate the stadium after the Summer Games, including removal of the tracks to allow space for other purposes.
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