Oita, one of the 10 World Cup hosts in Japan, expects two things from hosting the World Cup next year -- to promote the southern city around the world and to make Oita Stadium recognized as a major sporting and cultural destination.
"We'd like to let the world know about Oita through the World Cup, which is the biggest event in the world," Satoshi Saito, chief of the Oita Prefectural Government World Cup Promotion Bureau, said earlier this month. "We'd like to make the Big Eye Stadium a base for sporting and cultural activities, too. Hosting World Cup games is a means for us to achieve this."
The "Big Eye" is the nickname of Oita Stadium because of the shape of its retractable roof. The 43,000-seat stadium, located on the top of a hill about 7 km away from JR Oita Station, is expected to be used as the home stadium of J. League Division Two club Oita Trinita.