Bloomberg TV On Hanse, Rio

A Bloomberg TV feature on Gil Hanse following the awarding of the Olympic design contract for Rio 2016:

Meanwhile, the AP branch in Rio's Tales Azzoni continues his steadfast interest in the land dispute which will not hold up construction, says the IGF's Ty Votaw.

Votaw said the land dispute is “not a concern at this time,” and reiterated that the federation has been reassured by 2016 organizers that all issues are close to being resolved.

“There are some final discussions between the land owner and the organizing committee, and the mayor’s office that are just being finalized,” Votaw said. “We are working closely with Rio 2016 and the land owner to resolve the issues that need to be resolved so we could move forward.”

Votaw acknowledges there is a need to make planning changes for every day that goes by without construction starting, but said it doesn’t mean that current delays will affect the final project or the test events.

“There is some flexibility,” Votaw said. “We could be ready as early as March of 2015 or as late as August of 2015. You could have the test events in 2016 as well.”

The AP story ends by suggesting (yet again) that a different site may still be necessary for the 2016 course, even though a court has ruled that the construction can go ahead regardless of the ultimate decision on the land dispute that may be years away. We also know that from the AP's Azzoni.