80,000 Seater Stadium Planned For Osaka

[Mulboyne]

J League chairman Kenji Onitake has confirmed that there are plans to build an 80,000 seater stadium on the north side of Osaka Station. Onitake says that such a facility would help Japan's bid to host the 2018 or 2002 World Cups as well as boosting the economy in West Japan. It does make you wonder about all those stadia which were built for the 2002 World Cup, some of which remain seriously underused. A central Osaka stadium would probably be a major attraction - and somewhere for the Rolling Stones to play on their 60th anniversary tour - but it might easily cement the white elephant status of the others out in the regions.

[Taro Toporific]

....It does make you wonder about all those stadia which were built for the 2002 World Cup, some of which remain seriously underused...

"Seriously underused" is an understatement. A while back in the Spring, I watched an NHK program on International Stadium Yokohama (in Shinyokohama) reported it cost ichi-oku yen per day for the upkeep and debt service for that facility (that is only used 5 times a year).

[IkemenTommy]

As long as the cash keeps flowing into the yak'z pockets..

[Screwed-down Hairdo]

As long as the cash keeps flowing into the yak'z pockets..

If that's the case, maybe they can bury Jake under the new Osaka stadium?

[Blah Pete]

Another white elephant.
There is already a large stadium in Osaka. It has a running track which sucks.
This stadium will have no sway on who get the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
England in 2018 and the USA in 2022.

[FG Lurker]

I sure as hell hope that Osaka prefecture / city are not involved in this project but based on their track record (WTC, USJ...) they no doubt are. Just what we need, another huge hole into which to pour all our tax dollars.

[IkemenTommy]

another huge hole into which to pour all our tax dollars.

You mean yen

[FG Lurker]

[quote="IkemenTommy"]You mean yen ]
Indeed I do. Two weeks out of Japan speaking English all day and I'm even more fucked than when I left...

[Osakadave]

Another white elephant.
There is already a large stadium in Osaka. It has a running track which sucks.
This stadium will have no sway on who get the World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
England in 2018 and the USA in 2022.

There are two, but neither has that capacity.

I sure as hell hope that Osaka prefecture / city are not involved in this project but based on their track record (WTC, USJ...) they no doubt are. Just what we need, another huge hole into which to pour all our tax dollars.

Indeed.

[Doctor Stop]

Don't worry. No one will lend them the money to build the thing.

[IkemenTommy]

Don't worry. No one will lend them the money to build the thing.

I wouldn't bet on it when the Mishito buddies are in power.

[Mulboyne]

There's some Sankei coverage in Japanese here which discusses financing. J League doesn't have the resources to foot the whole bill so they are indeed looking for external assistance.

[Doctor Stop]

If they're smart, they'd factor in using the existing 45,000 seat stadium in Kobe into their plan because no one will lend them the money to build a new one. Getting the funds together to build yet another new airport in Kansai would be more likely.

Maybe Yokohama can ship their white elephant to Osaka concrete brick by concrete brick via chakubarai.

[Doctor Stop]

I wouldn't bet on it when the Mishito buddies are in power.

They've been cancelling a lot of big concrete projects. Building stupid-ass stuff like this is in the LDP playbook, not the DPJ's (even though most of the DPJ is ex-LDP).

[Greji]

They've been cancelling a lot of big concrete projects. Building stupid-ass stuff like this is in the LDP playbook, not the DPJ's (even though most of the DPJ is ex-LDP).

There's a difference?

[FG Lurker]

There's a difference?

Yeah, the DPJ is doing a much better job of fucking up everything it touches. The LDP was never this good at that (though they certainly tried...)

[Doctor Stop]

The LDP was never this good at that (though they certainly tried...)

Moving Japan to #2 in the public debt to GDP ratio sweepstakes was the LDP's doing and most of that debt was spent on building useless infrastructure.

[FG Lurker]

Moving Japan to #2 in the public debt to GDP ratio sweepstakes was the LDP's doing and most of that debt was spent on building useless infrastructure.

Most of the infrastructure isn't useless, though there have certainly been far too many useless projects. I'm certainly not claiming to like the LDP but the DPJ is much worse.

[Doctor Stop]

The DPJ hasn't had a real chance to make anything worse yet. Give them time and I'm sure they'll make mistakes, but they'll have to be pretty big mistakes to beat tripling the public debt in twenty years like the LDP did.

[FG Lurker]

The DPJ hasn't had a real chance to make anything worse yet. Give them time and I'm sure they'll make mistakes, but they'll have to be pretty big mistakes to beat tripling the public debt in twenty years like the LDP did.

They are expected to increase it by 25% in the next 3 years alone.

[wuchan]

Most of the infrastructure isn't useless, though there have certainly been far too many useless projects. I'm certainly not claiming to like the LDP but the DPJ is much worse.

the half built bridge in my town isn't useless?:confused:

[Greji]

the half built bridge in my town isn't useless?:confused:

The half built side is perfectly fine. It is the missing other half that has the use challenge.....

[Doctor Stop]

the half built bridge in my town isn't useless?:confused:

Just think of it as a good place to practice Dukes of Hazzard jumps:

[YT]hb7qPbvZDCM[/YT]

[FG Lurker]

the half built bridge in my town isn't useless?:confused:

Not sure which part of "most" isn't clear...