Rio mayor's assets frozen as Olympic golf course future remains stalled

The saga that is the Olympic golf course in Rio de Janeiro has taken another turn, and it only further confuses who precisely is responsible for ensuring the Gil Hanse-designed track’s post-Games future.

On Friday, a Brazilian judge froze the assets of Rio mayor Eduardo Paes, with the judge claiming Paes did not charge the proper tax to course developer Pasquale Mauro. In a controversial deal, Paes gave Mauro rights to build high-rise luxury condominiums around the Olympic course, which Mauro agreed to finance to the tune of approximately $ 20 million.

Paes, whose term as mayor concludes at the end of 2016, disputed and appealed the ruling and said the city did assess the correct $ 1 million developer tax.

The International Olympic Committee praised Paes for his part in getting the Rio Games to the finish line despite lackluster ticket sales, the usual glitches and funding problems that trickled down to the Paralympic Games. However, the Olympic golf course was a particularly trying venue, with simply obtaining the land rights proving a major issue. Environmentalists claimed developing the land would violate the country’s stout conservancy laws. It was then difficult to identify who actually owned the land. Once Hanse and his firm landed the course design, the construction process was arduous for a variety of reasons, including funding.

Now, four months after the Olympic flame was extinguished in Brazil, the course — which the Brazilian Golf Confederation says is going through a “soft opening” — sees little traffic because of the green fees charged to locals, many who have no interest in or ability to pay for golf. The company selected to maintain the course moving forward has not been paid and claims to be digging into their own budget to keep the course alive. However, that maintenance will not continue without a contract which is paid.

Devil Ball Golf – Golf – Yahoo Sports

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