SAO PAULO, Oct 20: The field hockey venue for the 2016 Games wouldn’t fit at the Olympic Park as originally planned, so a solution was being worked on by Rio de Janeiro Olympic officials and the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

The 2016 committee said detailed studies that were not needed when the bid book was created eventually showed that the Olympic Hockey Centre could not be placed at the park, so it moved it to the Deodoro cluster, away from where most sports will be played and more distant from the Olympic Village.

The federation was upset that organisers couldn’t keep their bid promise and said the relocation could marginalise the sport and make it harder to attract people’s interest and fill the stands.

Now both sides say they are working together to decide on an alternate venue.

The federation initially criticised organisers because the move came without a request for its input. It became aware of the change during an update report by the Rio committee in London.

The organisers said they would present their full explanation and detailed proposals for the new venue, and both sides met this week during a London 2012 debrief by the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations in Lausanne, Switzerland.

“The FIH had a positive meeting with Rio 2016 and we are looking at all of the various options,” federation CEO Kelly Fairweather told The Associated Press in an e-mail. “Right now it is a work in progress.”

The press office of the Rio committee said on Friday that the meeting in Lausanne was productive and that the discussions got both parties closer to a solution that would please everyone.

Local officials wouldn’t reveal details on the proposals made to the FIH.

But both sides had previously said that options could include having a new venue closer to the main games hub or even a smaller arena at the Olympic Park. The federation argued that maybe a smaller venue packed with fans would be more beneficial to the sport than a larger stadium empty.—AP