New Olympic Stadium

[Head Honcho]

Spend £500 million building a stadium then turn it into a 25000 seater stadium after the games

What fvcking planet do these imbeciles live on?

They could have used the new Wembley for a month and built a few hospitals with the lottery money-it's madness

[davieG]

London unveils 2012 stadium plan The stadium will be the showpiece of the Games

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London 2012 officials have revealed the much-anticipated design for their new £496m Olympic Stadium. "No-one can say we've compromised on design, on sustainability or on the legacy potential," said Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell MP.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has already revealed work on the 80,000-seater stadium will begin three months ahead of schedule in April 2008.

It was initially expected to cost £280m but the costs have since been revised.

Animation of how London's 2012 stadium will look How the site was cleared for the stadium A look at Olympic stadiums past and present Lord Coe, the chairman of the London Organising Committee, told a news conference on Wednesday that the stadium would be a "stadium for a new era".

"It's a stadium that delivers on everything we said we would deliver on; a stadium with track and field as its primary legacy; a stadium that will be reduced from 80,000 seats in Olympic mode to a 25,000-seater community base," he said.

606: DEBATE What do you think of the design?

Jowell added: "This is a very important Olympic milestone and this stadium is focused very much on legacy and sustainability.

"Once the Games are over this will then be translated into a stadium that will not only host grand prix athletics events and other national sport events but will also serve the communities of the boroughs."

She also felt the stadium would be a great addition to the capital's sporting facilities.

"This augments and complements the other great stadia that London now has - Wembley, the Emirates and the new development at Twickenham," she said.

The stadium will be the centrepiece for the 2012 Games and will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the athletics events.

The main features of the design are:

• a sunken bowl built into the ground for the field of play and lower permanent seating, designed to bring spectators close to the action;
  
  
• 25,000 permanent seats, 55,000 demountable;
  
  
• a cable-supported roof that will stretch 28 metres the whole way around the stadium, providing cover for two-thirds of spectators;
  
  
• a fabric curtain will wrap around the stadium structure, acting as additional protection and shelter for spectators;
  
  
• facilities such as catering and merchandising will be grouped into self-contained 'pod' structures.
  

Chief architect Rod Sheard, of HoK Sport, said the stadium would make a big impact, but not in the same way that previous Olympic stadia had.

"This is not a stadium that's going to be screaming from the rooftops that it's bigger and more spectacular," he said. "This is just a cleverer building. This is a cleverer solution."

The atmosphere inside this bowl, we think, will be pretty special

Chief architect Rod Sheard

He added that the ability to convert the stadium from an 80,000-seater venue to a 25,000 one once the Olympics and Paralympics had finished was highly innovative and showed great forward thinking.

"We've ended up with a very tight, very compelling bowl," said Sheard. "The atmosphere inside this bowl, we think, will be pretty special."

HOK Sport is a firm of architects with a proven record for designing sporting venues.

It has been responsible for such projects as Wembley Stadium, the Millennium Stadium, the O2 Arena, the Emirates Stadium and Ascot Racecourse.

Building work on the Olympic Stadium, which will stand at the heart of the Olympic Park, will have to be finished at least six months ahead of the opening ceremony in July 2012 to allow for test events to take place.

The stadium build is being led by construction firm Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd in a partnership including architects HoK Sport and consulting engineers Buro Happold.

An artist's impression of how the stadium will be pieced together

"It's absolutely non-negotiable that it has to be ready on time," said Radio 5 Live sports news correspondent Gordon Farquhar.

"They've got a large contingency fund if things go wrong but they don't want to spend more than that.

"If it's not ready on time, that is probably the greatest shame the nation has faced in years. But it will be."

After the Games have finished, the temporary seating will be taken away and the stadium will become a 25,000-capacity venue with a permanent athletics track.

An anchor tenant such as a lower-league football or rugby club is actively being sought, but one has yet to be found.

London mayor Ken Livingstone said major football clubs such as West Ham would not be able to become tenants.

He said: "We made a commitment there would be a permanent athletics facility and we have honoured that commitment.

"For West Ham, we have identified a site much better-suited to their needs."

The ODA will be hoping for a positive response from the general public to the Olympic Stadium design following the criticism that the official 2012 logo received in June.

[davieG]

So to sum up a minimum of £500mill (it will be more) for permanent 25,000 seater stadium with only 2/3rds of the spectators under cover

[Head Honcho]

So to sum up a minimum of £500mill (it will be more) for permanent 25,000 seater stadium with only 2/3rds of the spectators under cover

To quote Tessa Jowell:

"No-one can say we've compromised on design, on sustainability or on the legacy potential,"

Well you certainly haven't compromised on cost that's for sure

[The People's Hero]

Good old Tessa Jowell.

Brilliant.

[Ashley]

The stadium looks good.

Shame about it going to a 25,000 seater stadium after tho

[Simi]

I despair.

[Webbo]

Spend £500 million building a stadium then turn it into a 25000 seater stadium after the games

What fvcking planet do these imbeciles live in?

They could have used the new Wembley for a month and built a few hospitals with the lottery money-it's madness

I think that there has to be a practice track next door to the stadium, that's why Wembley was ruled out.

[Head Honcho]

I think that there has to be a practice track next door to the stadium, that's why Wembley was ruled out.

I'm sure one of the trading estates around Wembley could've been knocked down and rebuilt at a fraction of the cost

[breadandcheese]

I really wish we'd let Paris win the Olympics. What a waste of bl**dy money on an event, that unlike a world cup, takes place in only one city.

Rubbish. The only good thing about the olympics is the walking race. Nothing else.

[Fez of Mahrez]

I'm no expert but surely;

1) It makes financial sense to win the Olympics in terms of the boost to the economy.

2) We don't need another 80,000-capacity stadium in London.

3) British Athletics has been underfunded for years and this will provide athletes with a decent permanent facility in London.

All points to be considered together.

[davieG]

I'm no expert but surely;

1) It makes financial sense to win the Olympics in terms of the boost to the economy.

Not all countries break even - some are still funding theirs many years down the line

2) We don't need another 80,000-capacity stadium in London.

Do we need a 25000 seater one for £500mill

3) British Athletics has been underfunded for years and this will provide athletes with a decent permanent facility in London.

Decent but extortionate, we could build 15 -20 Walkers type stadiums for that money and spread them around the country

All points to be considered together.

Considered

[Head Honcho]

I'm no expert but surely;

1) It makes financial sense to win the Olympics in terms of the boost to the economy.

2) We don't need another 80,000-capacity stadium in London.

3) British Athletics has been underfunded for years and this will provide athletes with a decent permanent facility in London.

All points to be considered together.

British Athletics is over funded imo! I'm all for funding sports but if you don't get results then that money should be stopped!

Athletics is funded at the expense of other sports-sports that we are actually good at!

The Beijing olympics will have about 30 participating sports and you can bet that Athletics will take the lions share of the money!

[Raikkonen]

I'm no expert but surely;

1) It makes financial sense to win the Olympics in terms of the boost to the economy.

2) We don't need another 80,000-capacity stadium in London.

3) British Athletics has been underfunded for years and this will provide athletes with a decent permanent facility in London.

All points to be considered together.

your right about the 80,000 stadium in london bit

[Master Fox]

London 2012 is the Matty Fryatt of all the Olympic games ever held

[BigGibbo]

I liken Britain to one of those stuck up working class mums with middle class aspirations!

Riddled with debt full of issues & not a patch on her rivals but still goes along living in the past with her nose up ignorant to any issues & still trying to keep up with the jones's!

[ASH17LCFC]

I don't know why West Ham don't have it after the Olympics ... Im sure they could get 80,000 each week

[WetFlannel]

I don't know why West Ham don't have it after the Olympics ... Im sure they could get 80,000 each week

didnt they turn it down due to the running track and said there would be a drastic loss of atmosphere

[ASH17LCFC]

didnt they turn it down due to the running track and said there would be a drastic loss of atmosphere

Running tracks are all the b*llOcks aboard. Still i can't see West Ham getting 80,000 every week or any week. There's only one team in england who could and they are sadly Man Utd. I think Juve Got rid of their running track and reduce the number of seats in there. To genarate a better atmosphere.

[breadandcheese]

1) It makes financial sense to win the Olympics in terms of the boost to the economy.

The problem with the olympics is it is based in only one city. Therefore, how much benefit to the economy can really be felt in any city but London. So taxpayers around the country, in Manchester, Leicester, Newcastle, Liverpool, Devon, etc, are all subsidising an event that they will see no benefit from, with money that could have been spent improving areas around the whole country.

If they could spread the olympics like a world cup so that you had events around the country, then it might be different. Sadly, this won't happen.

[Raj]

What a fcuk up!

By the time(IF its ever even built on time!)it will be built it will be way over budget.

Another Millenium Dome in the making!

Lord Coe.....KNOB!