The area around Beijing's National Stadium, or "Bird's Nest," will be turned into a shopping and entertainment complex in three to five years, the CITIC Group said yesterday.

Plans call for the US$450 million stadium to be the anchor for a complex of shops and entertainment outlets in three to five years, according to the CITIC Group, operator of the stadium, which was the showpiece of the Beijing Olympics in August last year.

Tourists now pay 50 yuan (US$7) to walk on the stadium floor and browse a souvenir shop.

It attracts an average of 20,000 to 30,000 visitors every day, according to Beijing tourism authorities.

The CITIC Group will continue to develop tourism as a major draw for the Bird's Nest, while seeking sports and entertainment events.

The only confirmed event at the 91,000-seat stadium this year is Puccini's opera "Turandot," on August 8 - the first anniversary of the Olympics' opening ceremony. The stadium has no permanent tenant after Beijing's top football club, Guo'an, backed out of a deal to play there.

An individual company was established by the CITIC Group, Beijing Urban Construction Group and Golden State Holding Group Corporation to focus on the Bird's Nest business.

According to the company, maintenance of the 250,000-square-meter National Stadium will cost 60 million yuan a year, making it hard to make profit.

(Shanghai Daily via Agencies February 1, 2009)