Bidding reopened for Olympic stadium construction

TOKYO — A new round of bidding for construction of the main stadium for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will delay the start of the controversial project.

Japan Sport Council officials on Tuesday said some of the bids were reviewed by someone in the decision committee before all bids were in, a violation of the rules.

Another round of bidding is due to start later this month.

Plans for the stadium, designed by award-winning British-Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, have been plagued by problems, including complaints from some prominent architects who say the design is too big and expensive.

The 80,000-seat, futuristic design to replace Tokyo's National Stadium was initially projected to cost 130 billion yen ($1.3 billion), but is expected to be scaled down amid concern over rising costs.