Rome's Colosseum to soon have a new-age retractable floor

Rome's famous attraction, the Colosseum, will soon have a hi-tech retractable floor that will be spread over a mammoth 3000 sq m. The floor, where gladiators walked once, used to be covered with sand when it was inaugurated in 80 AD. It could seat up to 50000 people, enthralled audience who would come in to watch gladiators fighting. Animal fighting the warriors was another great lure then. The old floor was removed for excavation work, and the last battle was fought here in 15th century AD.

Now, there are plans to cover the arena base with a retractable floor. The idea is to make it easier and quicker to cover the underground network in case of rain or any such condition. Ancient would meet modern with this move as the new floor will be made from stainless steel, which would then be covered by wood.
It would be reversible as well in case there are more design developments in the future. It is speculated that having a floor would also make the already famous Colosseum all the more alluring as it can be used to host art and theatre performances and more. As per the estimated, the new floor would be in place by 2023, and would be built at a staggering cost of $22.5 million.