The installation of underground optical cables for television broadcasting of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is estimated to cost ¥10.56 billion (about $92 million) at four venues in three prefectures near the capital, sources said Thursday.
As the 2020 Games organizers consider this total for Fukushima, Chiba and Shizuoka prefectures to be extremely high, they presented an alternative, simplified proposal to the International Olympic Committee that would cut the costs by ¥8.42 billion, the sources said.
The organizers have briefed local governments about the costs for installing optical cables during discussions on cost-sharing, they said.
While the organizing committee has not yet decided whether to have local governments foot parts of the bill for the cable installment, a source noted, "An amount of over ¥10 billion is abnormal. If local governments were to have to pay for it, they are certain to object."
The Olympic Broadcasting Services, which provides the international video feed of the Olympic Games, wants two cables, including one backup, installed underground.
But the 2020 organizers have prepared a counterproposal calling for the utilization of existing cables as backup and urging that the cables be installed above ground because that would be cheaper, according to the sources.
An IOC executive said the organizing committee's counterproposal is being examined together with the OBS to see if it would not pose risks.
The organizers have proposed cutting the cost for cable installation at the cycling venues — Izu Velodrome and Izu Mountain Bike Course — in Shizuoka Prefecture from ¥2.82 billion to ¥1.31 billion.
They also think the cost at the Tsurigasaki Beach Surfing Venue in Chiba Prefecture can be reduced from ¥3.63 billion to ¥770 million, while that for Azuma Stadium in Fukushima, a candidate site for a baseball and softball game, can be slashed from ¥41.1 billion to ¥60 million, the sources said.