Despite larger government role, organizers struggle to find events for Beijing's Bird Nest

Associated Press

Last update: November 4, 2009 - 9:11 AM

BEIJING - Chinese officials continue to struggle to find uses for the Bird's Nest Stadium, the iconic centerpiece of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Finding new events for the 80,000-seat venue is a constant problem, Zhou Bin, the stadium's director of research and development, was quoted as saying Wednesday in the official China Daily newspaper.

"Each time a major event is held at the Bird's Nest, there is pressure to prevent the venue from becoming a white elephant," Zhou said.

In August 2008, the stadium was the scene of the spectacular Olympic opening and closing ceremonies and the three world records set by Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt.

These days, it's little more than an empty museum, with its largest source of revenue coming from tourists who pay about $7 to walk on the stadium floor, pose for snapshots and climb through the expensive seats to a souvenir shop selling pricey mementos.

As Olympic memories fade, however, the number of visitors has dropped from a peak of 50,000 per day to just a few thousand.

Designed by Switzerland's Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron as a symbol of China's rising strength and confidence, the stadium cost the government $450 million to build and millions more annually to maintain.

The stadium has no permanent tenants — it's too expensive for local sports teams — and officials have refused to sell the naming rights.

In the 14 months since the Olympics, the venue has hosted only a handful of events, including a concert by Jackie Chan and the Italian Super Cup featuring Inter Milan and Lazio. On Wednesday, the Bird's Nest played host to the Race of Champions, a novelty auto sports event.

Event organizers had counted on a stronger local government management role helping generate more revenues for the stadium, but China's inherent sports marketing weaknesses seem to have derailed those hopes.

In August, the company that owns the National Stadium was reorganized to award a 58 percent share of its stock to the state-owned industry arm of the Beijing city government, which also assumed the exclusive rights to manage events there for 30 years.

CITIC Consortium Stadium Operations Co. Ltd., part of a government-owned investment company which put up 48 percent of the money to build the stadium and had formerly held the management rights, holds a 42 percent share.

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