2014 World Cup organizers unhappy with changes to size of sideline advertising boards

WCup organizers unhappy with new ad board sizes

SAO PAULO — Ads are growing for the next World Cup.

Organizers of the 2014 tournament say they are having to make changes to stadium designs because FIFA has increased the height of sideline advertising boards.

Officials in charge of building and renovating stadiums claim FIFA told them recently that the signs will increase in height from 90 centimeters (35½ inches) to 1 meter (39 3-8 inches).

The change forces engineers to alter some stadium designs to ensure spectators’ sightlines are maintained.

Internacional club director Emidio Ferreira, in charge of the renovations at the Beira-Rio stadium in Porto Alegre, told the Folha de S. Paulo newspaper Sunday that the changes are “absurd.”