Sports
World cup stadium will now process prisoners
World cup stadium will now process prisoners
In the Brazilian state known as Amazonas, which is as far deep into South America as one can get in this rising nation of over two hundred million people, a judge has come up with a novel idea of what to do with a World Cup stadium once the 2014 World Cup is over: use the stadium to process prisoners.
The background to the story is that the Brazilian government is building twelve brand new soccer stadiums to accommodate the 2014 World Cup games to be held in Brazil, reports the Globe.
There is no question that the stadiums will be needed to conduct games across the nation. However, it has also become clear that following the games a good number of the stadiums will remain unused.
That has prompted a judge in Manaus, the capitol city of Amazonas, and home to nearly two million people, to suggest that the stadium could be used to process criminals.
Now, it would seem a horrifying commentary on the state of Brazil that the incoming prison population is so large as to require such a facility, but perhaps the judge knows what he’s talking about.
Brazil is rising economically, but far too many remain poor and taxes are high. This has prompted widespread protests against spending billions on stadiums when the needs are greater elsewhere.
Alvaro Corado, spokesman for the Amazonas state court system, told The Associated Press Tuesday that Judge Sabino Marques had proposed a novel idea.
“He would, perhaps, suggest to the government of the state of Amazonas that the stadium be used as a processing centre for prisoners after the World Cup,” Corado said, quoting Marques.
Other Brazilians officials have said cities will need to be creative to find uses for the stadiums.
On The Web:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/soccer-stadium-could-be-used-for-prisoner-processing-after-2014-world-cup/article14496335/