The construction and renovation of 12 soccer stadiums for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was plagued by cost overruns, legacy concerns, and missed construction deadlines.
There are also questions about the point of spending $3.6 billion on stadiums, some of which don't seem to have long-term uses, when other basic social services are underfunded.
These photos of the 12 host venues reflect the complexity of the Brazil World Cup. The venues are striking and surrounded by natural beauty; but they're also sometimes way behind schedule, sometimes tucked between slums, and sometimes needlessly expensive.
Our favorites: the Estadio das Dunas in Natal and the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba.
Our least favorites: the depressing Arena Pernabumco in Recife.
The Maracana in Rio de Janeiro is the centerpiece of the World Cup.
The historic stadium once held nearly 200,000 people. After a $536-million renovation, the capacity is now 78,000.
Source: WSJ
The Maracana is in the thick of Rio, right down the road from the Mangueira slum.
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