The Maracanã, now with more flooding

The Atlantic is the latest publication to publish a “Will Brazil be ready?” story. The piece, written by Chris Feliciano Arnold, focuses on the centerpiece of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, the Maracanã.

The famous stadium is in the middle of a massive refurbishment that will bring it up to FIFA’s exacting standards of style, safety, and seats for chubby people. It’s not exactly going so well.

“We’re not worried, we’re just a bit anxious,” FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke said after a visit on March 7. “All we are concerned about is doing a good job. We don’t have a Plan B.”

A 5,500-person crew(!) is working night and day to get the place ready for the Confederations Cup, which begins in less than 100 days. The smaller tournament will give Brazilian officials an opportunity to work out all the kinks in the system, supposedly.

Now, about those delays: It’s always fun to place blame on the ones doing the work, but part of the issue isn’t their fault. To the e-pages of the Atlantic:

The project suffered major delays in 2011 when structural weakness in the stadium’s iconic concrete dome forced engineers back to the drawing board to design a membrane roof structure. The new design, featuring solar panels and a wastewater draining system, pushed back the original December 2012 deadline to February—and now again to May. While the World Cup is still more than a year away, FIFA has repeatedly warned Brazil that it needs the Maracanã delivered no later than May 28th, in time for test events necessary to work out the kinks that can only be solved during live matches. There is no further room for error.

And look, we’ve been over this before. Big events like the World Cup are always behind schedule. They always have issues with the labor unions, so when the Heavy Construction Workers Union strikes and demands more money, it’s not a surprise.

But this does seem like we are getting down to it, no? A few weeks ago, work was hampered by flooding. Flooding! And while I don’t really believe FIFA absolutely needs the Maracanã to be done by May 28th and I don’t believe Mr. Valcke that there is no Plan B, it is a little concerning to keep reading stories like this that seem to be getting worse rather than better. I’m sure it will all come together okay in the end, but it’s not going to be pretty.