Rio’s flagship stadium to undergo multimillion pound face-lift
The ‘Soccer Temple’, or Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, is set to undergo a face-lift to make Brazilian property owners proud of it.
It will undergo a refurbishment costing around £187 million to prepare it for hosting the 2014 World Cup Final and the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2016 Olympic Games.
Brazzilmag.com reported that Rio’s secretary of sports and tourism, Marcia Lins, said that work on the iconic stadium, the largest in the world at the time when it was used in the 1950 World Cup, will start in March, with a view to it being completed by December 2012.
The minister added that Brazilian property owners will be able to use the stadium as a "great public park", with services such as bars, restaurants and shops being included in the re-fit.
Brazilian property owners will get to benefit around the country from stadium and infrastructure improvements, with Brasilia, Recife and Porto Alegre among those cities to benefit.
