Brazil will spend $280 million to renovate Maracana Stadium,
closing the historic venue next year to spruce up the centerpiece
of the 2014 World Cup.
Opened for the 1950 World Cup, Maracana is expected to be
reopened in December 2012, government officials said on Thursday.
The facade will remain, although a roof will be added to the
five-story structure.
Originally built to hold 200,000, the present capacity will
be reduced from 87,000 to 82,000 at the recommendation of FIFA, the
world governing body of football.
"Yes, it will hold fewer people, but with better quality,"
Marcia Lins, the tourism secretary for Rio de Janeiro state, said
on Thursday.
Work on the stadium will begin in March, and it will be
closed altogether in August in a project that could take two years
to complete.
The renovation will include upgraded changing rooms, a
remodeled area for the media, new seats, toilets and restaurants.
The parking area will also be expanded.
Lins said the renovation would also include the regeneration
of the northern area of the city.
