Forgotten 'skeleton' stadium that was abandoned after costing £505m will finally be completed 12 years later
A forgotten stadium that was abandoned after costing £505 million will finally be completed 12 years later.
The Rome-based stadium, located near the Tor Vergata University, was supposed to be ready for the 2009 World Swimming Championships.
It was initially referred as the 'City of Sports' but everyone in Rome simply calls it Calatrava’s Sails - a nod to Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, who was tasked with creating the mega structure.
The stadium returned to the spotlight after Rome's bid to host the 2020 Olympics. The Italian city was nominated by the Italian National Olympic Committee.
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On the stadium, Calatrava said: "If the funds arrive, it will be ready in 2013."
Construction began in 2005 in view of the 2009 World Swimming Championships. But work stopped in 2007, and the facility remained abandoned for several years.
The construction site produced two 'skeletons' with exposed steel and rusty bolts.
A mixture of political and economic issues - compounded by the 2008 financial crisis - prevented the stadium from being built when it was supposed to be finished.
But additional funds were allocated as part of the works to be carried out of the Jubilee of the Catholic Church in 2025 - 12 years after it was supposed to be ready.
As a result, the cost of Calatrava's project has risen from £55 million to £505 million in five years.
The huge stadium boasts an Olympic-sized swimming pool, which can also be used for diving, while the other dome is a multi-purpose sports arena that can house basketball and volleyball events.
It was one of the country's unfinished construction sites, but it will be finished for the Jubilee of 2025.
The structure, although modified in design, has been revived thanks to the Jubilee and avoids being left abandoned as the classic cathedral in the desert.
The project will have changed from the original; the missing second roof will not be built thus leaving it open.
Topics: Olympics
Nasir Jabbar