Our shiny new National Stadium, a generous gift bestowed upon us by the People’s Republic of China, may look perfect in the eyes of all Ticos, but upon closer inspection the perfection begins to fade away. Such is the sentiment of Diario Extra, a popular newspaper that obtained a copy of an official document that details at least ten deficiencies in our National Stadium that have not been solved a year after its grand opening.

The document, which was created by the National Council for Sport and Recreation, outlines a series of deficiencies that Diario Extra calls defects. The issues were observed by various inspectors who performed “punch lists” and walk-through inspections in 2010, prior to the grand opening of the stadium.

Some of the deficiencies can be considered negligible, while others are a bit more serious. If they were not addressed while the Chinese architects, engineers and construction crews were still working on it, it may have been a matter of not looking a gift horse in the mouth. What is troubling is that the issues have not yet been fixed, although government officials have admitted that work will begin once a new management concession for the stadium is granted -something that will happen soon.

Here are some of the “defects” pointed out by Diario Extra:

• The stadium lacks a permanent insurance policy in case of major disasters like earthquakes or fires. Thus far the stadium has gotten around this issue by requiring a promoter’s policy for each sporting or concert event.
• The two giant television screens in the stadium are controlled by keyboards that are either in English or Chinese, and thus do not support some Spanish characters.
• The stadium lacks its own water treatment facility, something that will be needed once the hotel and restaurant facilities open up.
• Individual broadcast booths have not yet been designed or built at the stadium, and thus all radio and television stations are forced to share the same space. The lower part of the media area is open and lacks separation from the audience; something that does not translate into ideal conditions for broadcasting or reporting.
• The narrow back rests of the seats do not meet FIFA requirements. They only measure 18 centimeters, while FIFA requires a minimum of 30 centimeters for the comfort of international football fans.