By Andrew Warshaw
March 11 – What was expected to be a celebratory landmark occasion in terms of stadium readiness for the World Cup didn’t go completely to plan as another 2014 venue held its first test event.
Organisers finally unveiled the Arena da Amazonia in the jungle city of Manaus on Sunday with a domestic fixture attended by about 20,000 fans including some of the workers who helped build the ground.
But local media reported a series of unfinished projects and leaks from parts of the roof. Fans also complained of long queues to purchase food while some tickets had been sold for seats that did not exist because of a mistake in the stubs, with spectators redirected to a part of the ground which was initially supposed to be closed.
World Cup organisers pledged to fix the problems in time for two more test events at the stadium which will host four World Cup games in June, including England vs Italy and United States vs Portugal. They said the lack of enough food outlets will have to be addressed.
“This is a critical point that needs to be re-evaluated; it can’t happen again,” said Miguel Capobiango, one of the officials in charge of World Cup preparations in Manaus. “But this is why we have these test events.”
The Arena Amazonia cost nearly £174 million, about £40 million more than originally expected. It was one of six still to be completed by the end of last year, the deadline originally imposed by FIFA, but construction had been marred by three workers’ deaths.
Sunday’s match between Nacional and Remo, which ended in a 2-2 draw, was designed to get as close as possible to a World Cup event as only fans with tickets were allowed inside a 1-kilometer (0.6-mile) radius of the stadium.
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