Months after Rio games, Maracana Stadium in disrepair

Maracana Stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies at the 2016 RIo Olympics, has fallen into disrepair. (Hassan Ammar/AP)

RIO DE JANEIRO — The power remains off at Maracana Stadium in a fight over who will pay a $1 million electricity bill.

Electricity was shut off a week ago and, on Thursday, electric utility Light said it would remain off until someone pays.

The consortium running the stadium owes the bill, although the consortium disputed that, Light said in a statement to The AP.

It said some of the bill was owed by Olympic Games organizers, who used the stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies, and football matches.

The stadium has fallen into disrepair in recent weeks, with hundreds of seats ripped out by vandals and dumped into a ground-level enclosure. Television sets were also stolen, and the field is brown from a lack of water. Artificial turf around the edge of the field has also been ripped up.

No events are planned at the stadium.

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