Exclusive - FIH Bosses Outraged by Rio 2016 Plan to Relocate Hockey Venue

(ATR) Kelly Fairweather tells Around the Rings that International Hockey Federation leaders are deeply concerned over Rio 2016 plans to break bid book promises by trying to relocate the venue for their sport.

"We are not happy that they are not respecting the bid commitment," the FIH chief executive told ATR on Thursday.

"During the IOC Session [in London] this was presented as a fait accompli [by Rio 2016]. There was a publication called Rio 2016 Update Report which had the hockey venue in the Deodoro Zone. We looked at this and said 'that's strange as we haven't given support to this plan'."

He added: "There is a lot of concern about this, not only the move but also the way that it has been communicated without our approval."

In its bid book, Rio 2016 proposed an Olympic Hockey Center main pitch for 10,000 spectators and a second 5,000-capacity pitch, both on the Olympic Park and just 7km from the Olympic Village.

Hockey chiefs are angry that their sport, which does not have a big following in Brazil, will be marginalized by a move to the outskirts of Rio, a journey of up to 40 minutes from the Olympic Village located in the Games hub of the Barra Zone.

Fairweather said the Deodoro Zone relocation plan would "impact on the ability to get people out there and the interest of people in getting out there".

FIH bosses and Rio 2016 officials met in London during the Olympics, but hockey has yet to receive a satisfactory explanation as to why Brazil's Games organizers have broken their bid pledge. To date, all they have been told, according to Fairweather, is that environmental and financial issues have "shrunk" the space originally allocated to hockey on the Olympic Park, making it unfeasible.

The FIH is open to negotiating a deal that would ideally site hockey on the Olympic Park or at a location in Rio that is much nearer to the Olympic Village, he added.

"We are willing to find a compromise, but we need to go through the steps in the right way," he explained.

Fairweather has taken hockey's concerns to the IOC's sports director Christophe Dubi, who has offered a sympathetic ear.

"The IOC are supportive in that Rio 2016 need to provide a detailed explanation for the move and other possible options," he said, adding that any relocation would have implications on the accommodation of athletes, travel times and the development of training venues.

Fairweather is pushing for Rio 2016 to keep hockey on the Olympic Park to better meet the needs of athletes, give the sport a higher profile at the Games and ensure it has a lasting legacy.

FIH chiefs feel that any move away from the Olympic Park would represent a backward step in their bid to grow the sport's popularity in Brazil. London set the benchmark with its successful staging of the Olympic hockey tournament – the venue on the Olympic Park was packed out for the Games.

"We’ve shown here in London just how good hockey is in the Olympic Park," FIH communication manager Jenny Wiedeke told ATR.

"It’s a spectator sport, it's one that doesn’t take up a lot of space. You just have to hope that Rio will take a look at that and say ‘wow, hockey really did add its flair to Olympic Park in London' and hope Rio picks up on that and keeps us in the Park too."

Reducing the capacity of the main Rio 2016 hockey venue is one option FIH is keen to explore. That would reduce venue and broadcasting infrastructure costs. "We feel that havinga smaller venue that is full is better than a bigger venue that is not," Fairweather said.

At the meeting in London with Rio 2016 leaders, he said Olympic officials had agreed to send their full reasons for the relocation proposal by Sept. 15, as well as other possible options to accommodate hockey's demands.

Fairweather and FIH board member Sue Neill will then visit Rio in the first week of October in a bid to hammer out a deal with Games organizers.

"We have always said we are open to finding solutions," he said. "We want to make sure that 1) it is the right venue for our sport and 2) there is an appropriate legacy."

With the clock ticking down to Rio 2016, he added: "Hopefully we will get this finalized in the next couple of months. We have to... we have to move on. This is really important for us."

Responding to the hockey federation's concerns, Rio 2016 communications director Carlos Villanova told ATR: "There is no definite answer to this question [of relocation]. It is not definite that we are moving it to the Deodoro Zone.

"Rio 2016 is working with the hockey federation to find an agreement. We want to have the best for the sport in Rio – it is in their interests and our interests. We totally understand their point."

One of the reasons why Rio 2016 was looking to move hockey to the Deodoro Zone was to provide for a better legacy post-Games, he added without going into further detail.

Reported by Mark Bisson

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