As the Olympics settles down in our minds as a distant memory, we wonder what will happen to the fabulous Olympic Park. Much was made of building a legacy and creating sustainable venues but, what arena' and stadiums will stay and which will go?
The Olympic Stadium, scene of some of the most memorable sporting moments from both the Olympics and Paralympics, will be handed over to a professional football club in a matter of weeks. The likely recipient will be West Ham United FC but, not before Leyton Orient FC drag it through the law courts to question the legality of another football club moving into their patch. The stadium will need a major development to get it fit for football. Options include digging out thousands of tonnes of soil, to lower the pitch to ensure fans are closer to the action, or to retain the running track with temporary stands built over the track. Which ever way the designers go it will not be hosting football for at least 2 more years.
The Copper Box will become a multi use sports centre open to the community. It is hoped that International competitions will still be held at the venue with a range of indoor sports including basketball, handball, badminton, boxing, martial arts, netball, table tennis, wheelchair rugby and volleyball amongst the potential sports on offer.
The Velodrome will remain and will form the heart of the new Lee Valley VeloPark. This again will be accessible to the local community aswell as clubs and elite athletes. Improvements and developments to the site will include a new BMX track, a new mountain bike track and a new road cycle circuit.
The Aquatics centre will be opened to the local community aswell as clubs and schools. The local community will be the biggest benefactors of the Aquatic centre but, elite swimmers are still expected to be among the 800,000 visitors a year. The two temporary wings will be removed before it is expected to be open to the public. All pools have floors which can be lowered or raised to create different depths for various competitions.
The Athletes village will be converted into 2818 new homes. A mixture of affordable and luxury homes will be created over the next 8 years.
The Riverbank arena will be dismantled along with the basketball arena. The Riverbank Arena will be repositioned at the site of the wheelchair tennis after some of the Paralympic courts are removed. This will become a permanent training and International hockey venue.
So it seems the legacy will be there for all to see. Along side these developments are plans to build more housing, offices, a global technology centre (in the site of the press village) and parklands for thousands of visitors to enjoy the new cafe's and restaurants.
