Dive Brief:

After abandoning the original design for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics’ flagship stadium, the Japanese government said Tuesday that construction will begin with new plans early next year.

The government will select a new designer and plans from entrants in an international competition, Japan’s education and sports minister, Hakubun Shimomura, said at a news conference.

Shimomura also said he might convene a third-party investigation into how the estimate for construction costs on the initially planned arena nearly doubled before the stadium — which was supposed to be ready in time for the 2019 Rugby World Cup — broke ground.

Dive Insight:

The original plans were scrapped amid significant public opposition and a call for Shimomura’s resignation as the cost estimate spiraled upward. After insisting for a week that the stadium would be built according to that design, the government announced late last week it would start “from scratch” with new plans.

The original designer of the venue — Zaha Hadid — said Tokyo’s spiraling construction costs, and not the design, were responsible for the budget woes.

Building to the original specifications reportedly would have created the world’s most-expensive sports venue.