| The Beijing National Stadium 北京国家体育场 (Běijīng Guójiā Tǐyùchǎng), or more commonly called the Bird's Nest (鸟巢), is the most famous of the new venues built for the Olympics. The stadium was begun in 2003 and finished in 2008. It cost almost 2 billion yuan or about 290 million dollars. It was originally designed to seat 100,000 people, but was modified to seat 80,000 people. Even that is too many for all but major international events and the stadium is having trouble getting tenants. There are plans to decrease the size of the stadium and convert space to shopping and perhaps a hotel. It costs 9 million dollars for yearly maintenance. |
