Course Design Bids for Rio Olympics Extended


Due to problems with proper legal and financial documentation, the organizers of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro have extended the deadline for architects and architectural firms to submit bids on the new golf course for the Games. The committee originally requested that interested companies or individual architects send in applications by October 28.

Despite the delay, organizers say they still hope to meet the deadline of announcing the winning bid on December 23 of this year. They said Wednesday that they are contacting candidates to request new documentation.

The process for interested bidders is onerous. The winning bidder must have an office legally established in Rio and will be paid $300,000 for the design of the course, which will be built in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, the site of many Olympic venues. The nominal fee and Rio office requirement have proven - to some potential bidders - as stumbling blocks.

The number and names of the bidders were noy identified when the extension was announced.

Golf is returning to the Olympics for the first time since the St. Louis Games in 1904. The sport was reinstated by an International Olympic Committee vote in 2009 after concerted lobbying from members of the golf industry. It's also guaranteed to be played in the 2020 Games; that site has not been determined.

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