LONDON | Stadiums + Arenas: U/C, Approved + Proposed

[MadGerald]

I really like the Olympic stadium. There has been a lot of criticism in regards to it not being iconic enough when compared to previous games. There has also been a fair amount of resentment in regards to its temporary nature.People have compared it to the Beijing stadium which is in itself an amazing building and suggested London is doing it on the cheap.

Couldn't disagree more. I think the London stadium is a step forward and typical of what we will see more of in the future. Atlanta were the first when they reconfigured their stadium for Baseball. Also happened in Manchester for the commonwealth games where the stadium was built in temporary athletics mode and then turned into a football stadium when the games ended. London is using a similar principle.The stadium will be downsized into a sustainable 25k athletics stadium. I think permanent athletics configured 80k stadia are a thing of the past.
I also think the London stadium will make for a bright refreshing contrast to the slightly monolithic feel of the Beijing stadium.

[nito]

Wimbledon Centre Court
The new roof and expanded seating at Centre Court at Wimbledon is seeing the last of finishing touches - this will allow games to continue when rain starts.






Colchester Stadium, 10,000


Due north-east of London on the A12/Great Easter Main Line is Colchester - a large commuter town of London. The local football team has left its old site and is moving to a new stadium that has a 10,000 seated capacity.






Silverstone F1 Race Track


The home to the British Grand Prix, Silverstone has also seen plans approved that will see its facilities greatly improved.

The substantial redevelopment programme will see an all-new paddock constructed on the straight between Club and Abbey corners, both of which will be realigned.



It will be the first time in Silverstone's history that the pit lane has been relocated from the straight between Woodcote and Copse.

The work is considered vital to secure the future of the British Grand Prix, which has been in doubt for many years amid continued criticism of the circuit from Bernie Ecclestone.



The council's deputy leader Michael Edmonds said the area was very supportive of Silverstone and keen to help the circuit maintain its Formula 1 status.

"This is an exciting project that will help Silverstone retain the British Grand Prix and strengthen its international role as a world-class motorsport facility," he said.




London 2012 Olympic Stadium, 80,000


Some pictures from the planning documents for the 2012 Olympic Stadium - 80,000 capacity.















And an idea of the area at the moment - note the retention of the bridge in the foreground

[nito]

London 2012 Olympic Park


With Beijing 2008 just around the corner, work is progressing ahead of schedule and was recently given the highest rating by the IOC for any city at this stage of the construction process.


An overview of Stratford City (new commercial and residential development) which will be used as the Olympic Village. The large trench is HSR1 and Stratford International (there are tunnels at each end towards Paris and Central London) which is used by Eurostars travelling between St Pancras, Paris Brussels and the rest of the European continent, as well as the Shinkansen 'Olympic Javelin's. Work on the DLR Stratford International Extension is visible to the centre as it loops around

Stratford Station is in the top right providing commuter and intercity trains, on top of London Underground, DLR and London Bus connections to the rest of London. A train will leave here every 15 seconds to ensure that public transport is key to delivering people to the venues.

The Olympic Park stations could handle some 250,000 unique visitors each hour.




The main Olympic Stadium is just below and behind.








A few good view of the Olympic Stadium.

The stadium and other Olympic venues will be on an island surrounded by a new park, equivalent in size to Central Park in New York.

The first picture is towards Stratford City, old Stratford and the transport hub and Olympic Village, while the second picture shows Canary Wharf and the 02 Arena which will be another venue for 2012.

The third and fourth picture illustrate how far work has progressed on the actual stadium: cranes are rising, foundations are being put in and concrete poured. It is also possible to see the work on re-aligning the rivers running through the Olympic Park.












A closer look of the Olympic Village.

In the first picture, the line to London Stansted Airport is visible, while in the distance is the Square Mile, and what was originally the original Roman London: Londinium.

In the second picture, the blocks are being marked out. This side of the trench will be mostly residential with medium-high density and a few towers although with the fall in property prices, the towers won't start until closer towards the Olympics.








A view of the Velodrome & IBC sites.






The foundations for Zaha Hadid's Aquatic Centre begins to take shape.

The first picture shows the Olympic Stadium to the left, and the Aquatics Centre to the right. The Great Eastern Main Line is the railway running at the bottom.

The railway sidings at the centre of the image are being taken up (they have been moved further along the track to new sidings next to the new Eurostar engineering shed due north of th Olympic Park) and will become parkland and walkways connecting the stadium to the other venues.

The second and third pictures show the stretched constrained shape of the site inbetween railways and waterways. As you may have noticed, railways and waterways at the Olympic site are good indicators for where venues start and end.











These two pictures show the Energy Centre that will provide the green energy required to power the venues and other uses that will be associated with the Olympics. In addition to electricity, the centre will also provide heat and cooling for the Stratford City development via woodchip and other material burners. The old derelict mill in the picture will become part of the Energy Centre. For perspective, this is north of the Olympic Stadium, but south of the Velodrome and IBC.

The railway running through the site is the North London Line, an overground line that runs around Central London and will be upgraded to handle 8tph each direction ensuring that people from North London and other parts of the UK coming down to London have an alternative route to the Olympics that bypasses busy Central London.

The East London Line Extension (refer to thread in Transport sub-form on the progress there) which is under construction will operate on the other side eventually offering a near complete orbital service bypassing Central London.

[nito]

A panorama of the entire 2012 Olympic Park looking southwards towards the Thames. One giant construction site.



And the best panorama for last, from west to east. As you may also notice, the blue hoardings are markers for 2012 Olympic work and quite a lot is happening south of the main railway line that runs to the south of the primary venues.

Might need to refresh this to see the below picture, around 0.8Mb




Pictures from the 2012 London Olympics Website. 4 Years to go.

[donclark]

The West Ham hockey club was wanting to move into the Olympic Stadium, but after the Olympics its being reduced significantly of its temporary stands. Another new stadium is in the works, after all, these football clubs have to be competitive.

I like HKS design of the new Liverpool Reds stadium at Stanley Park on Anfield Road. Its a wonderful modern design that doesn't apologize for its traditional four different stands, including maintaining a KOP.

Its been approved for 60,000 seats, but could be built larger, possibly over 70,000 if transit issues can be solved.

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/newstadium/

[nito]

2012 Olympic Stadium

[nito]

Bidders for 2012 rowing lake unveiled

http://www.cnplus.co.uk/News/2008/09..._unveiled.html

Five firms have been lined up to bid for the deal to build the rowing facilities for the 2012 Olympic Games.

The rowing regatta – which saw Britain top the medal table at last month's Beijing Olympics with half a dozen medals including two golds – will be held at the rowing centre of Eton College on Dorney Lake at Windsor in Berkshire.

Flatwater canoeing, which saw Team GB secure a gold last month as well, will also be held at the lake.

Big hitters Balfour Beatty and Carillion, which are building the aquatics centre and media centre respectively, have been joined by the two firms responsible for the clear-up of the main Olympic Park site in east London – Nuttall and Morrison. The fifth bidder is Norwest Holst.

Work will include building a 50 m span bridge for cars and pedestrians over an entrance to the warm-up lake as well as a cut-through to both the rowing and warm-up lakes.

The contract is due to be awarded early in 2009 with the work due to start later that year.

* Author: David Rogers. News Editor




Designs for the London 2012 Olympics Velodrome have been unveiled








Looking North




Looking South-East




Looking South






Five outdoor gyms to be built in Olympic boroughs
Anna Davis
11.09.08

A £1 million Olympic project designed to boost the health of a generation of children was unveiled today.

A chain of outdoor gyms aimed at cutting obesity is opening across London to bring the benefits of the 2012 Games to everyone living in the Olympic boroughs.



The "adiZones", built by Olympic sponsor adidas, are expected to last for 20 years.

The move is supported by Olympic gold medal winner Christine Ohuruogu. The 400m runner said: "The adiZones are wonderful spaces where young people can meet up, hang out and get involved in sport.

"The Standard's legacy campaign is so important. I grew up in Stratford and the sports facilities when I was a kid always needed to be continually developed to attract more youngsters to them.

"We've got a once in a lifetime opportunity with the Games coming to London and I fully support what the Standard is doing in helping to make sure that the promises made when we won the Olympics are achieved."

Nick Craggs, director of marketing at adidas, said: "Our commitment is to help to provide a legacy of increased sports participation which has to last longer than the Games.

"Adidas is highly involved with supporting the sporting elite, but we also want to support the grass roots end.

"We want to get the community involved in the Olympics in the broader sense. Adidas wholeheartedly supports the Evening Standard's charter to deliver an Olympic legacy." Each of the five 625m square gyms will contain "safe"' machines, which use a person's body weight as resistance rather than free weights.

The first "adiZone", which opened in Tower Hamlets this week, also contains a tennis wall, basketball nets, and a dance area. Waltham Forest, Greenwich, Hackney, and Newham will all get their own gyms by the end of next month.

The gyms are designed to help children find out what sports they are good at. If they enjoy using a particular-exercise machine they can find out what sport uses those muscles.

Mr Craggs said: "The vast majority of sport that children are exposed to is team sport such as football. This will show boys and girls of all ages that there are other sports out there.

"On each piece of equipment there are details of what sport they can use the exercises for and the name of a local club they can join.

"So on a fitness bike there will be the details of the local cycling club."

The outdoor gyms will be built on land belonging to local authorities.

Mr Craggs said: "This is a direct investment from adidas to local authorities which wouldn't have the cash to spend on this themselves.

"We hope this makes a difference to the health of a generation. Getting the nation healthier is at the top of everyone's agenda. The five zones are in the host boroughs because of the high levels of inactivity there and because the investment they get are not very high."

The Evening Standard is campaigning for a lasting 2012 Olympic legacy, including access to top-class sporting facilities for all and a system of "Olympic Champions" with top athletes going into schools to inspire children.

The campaign has already been backed by sports stars including Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps and boxer James DeGale from Harlesden, who won gold in Beijing.

[nito]

The London 2012 Olympic Stadium Rises

[nito]

Olympic Site Developments

[nito]

This will be my last update for a few weeks as I set off for a trip around the Far East so take it all in!


New 60,000 Stadium for London
Dubai builds its super-talls. London builds its stadiums.

Below are the first images of Tottenham Hotspurs new 60,000 capacity stadium to replace White Hart Lane their current stadium (capacity of 36,000). Spurs are looking for a new stadium to compete (fan and revenue wise) with their arch-rivals Arsenal who recently built a 60,000 (Emirates) stadium 4 miles down the road.





There are at present three stadiums over 60,000 in London:
- Wembley - 90,000
- Twickenham - 82,500
- Emirates Stadium - 60,000

The Olympic Stadium (80,000 capacity) is under construction, as are other supporting Olympic venues.

West Ham and Chelsea (two other Premiership temas) have plans for 60,000 capacity stadiums which would bring the number of stadiums over 60,000 capacity to 6! No other city can compare for sport.




2012 London Olympics Update


1 - The Olympic Stadium to the north, and the site for the Aquatic Centre to the bottom.





2 - The Aquatic Centre site.





3 - Another view of the above.





4 - The 2012 Energy Centre that will power the Olympic Site.





5 - View of Stratford City (major new development), the Stratford International station (Eurostar, Shinkansen) and the sites for various developments.





6 - Stratford City.





7 - The Olympic Stadium with Canary Wharf in the background.





8 - The Olympic Stadium from above.





9 - Olympic Stadium and Aquatic Centre from an alternative angle.





10 - The stadium tiers rise.





11 - Stratford City.





12 - The Velodrome.





13 - Another view of the Velodrome.

[nito]

A - Panorama of the entire Olympic construction site.







8 - Another impressive panorama from the Olympic Stadium to Stratford Station.

[nito]

London 2012 Olympic Stadium, 80,000

Updates from Flickr of the stadium.










London 2012 Basketball Arena, 12,000

Designs for the 12,000 capacity Basketball Arena have been released.
















Chelsea's New Stadium, 60,000+?

With rumours of Middle Eastern or German investors looking to buy up Roman Abramovich's Chelsea FC, Roman came out stating that he was still in control and was looking at options to either expand Chelsea's Stamford Bridge ground (which was originally built in 1877 and expanded continuously since) or seek an alternative location.

The problem with Chelsea is that at present, Stamford Bridge is surrounded on two sides by railway lines and a residential development that backs on to the stadium. If Chelsea moved away from Stamford Bridge, technically they would loose the right to the title of Chelsea FC due to some historic law that attachs the name to the turf.

The current capacity is 42,500, but with Arsenal's new 60,000 Emirates stadium, Spurs recently proposing a new 60,000 stadium, and West Ham looking at a 60,000 capacity stadium to the south of the new Olympic Stadium - Chelsea could be left behind with a dated and smaller stadium despite a growing audience of fans (both loyalists and band-wagon members).

The Current Stamford Bridge, 42,500

[bbeliko]

Originally Posted by nick_taylor

Chelsea's New Stadium, 60,000+?

But it wouldn't be CHELSEA's new stadium

[nito]

Olympic Park/Stratford City post London 2012

A few excellent pics of the post-2012 London Olympics site.

1 - Looking south roughly along the GMT line (02 in the background, Canary Wharf just to the right). South Stratford City is the area with towers and the golden structure. North Stratford City (or the Olympic Village during the games) is to the left next door to the Velodrome.





2 - Closer view of the River Lea, and the Olympic Park in legacy mode, Olympic Stadium with Canary Wharf are visible.





3 - Similar as above, but further out - the Olympic Park will for comparisons sake be slightly larger than Central Park, New York.





4 - Another view of the park - all the residential and commercial development around the park steps down so as to give the impression that the park is more wilderness, than slap bang in East London.







Wimbledon Centre Court

With the retractable roof pretty much complete, the only work left is the reinstalling of chairs for this Summers' tournament

[sohel]

The original stadium opened in 1923 for the FA Cup Final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. At the time the name was originally the Empire Stadium and had a maximum capacity of 100,000. However on the day around an expected 250,000 turned up and crammed into the stadium. Even more amazing was the fact that the game actually took place!

The stadium in its distinguished career, has hosted the 1966 World Cup, three European Cup Finals and in 1996 the European Football Championship Final. It had also held the Athletics of the 1948 Summer Olympics. It has also served as a music venue and has become notable through such immense concerts such as Live Aid of 1985, Queen's immense 1986 concert, the 1986 Freddie Mercury Tribute and 1988 Nelson Mandela Tribute concert.

[nito]

New White Hart Lane, 58,237 - Proposed

Tottenham Hotspurs (or Spurs for short) have officially announced their plans for rebuilding their stadium in North London. It will be built on the current stadium site, with an all-seated capacity of 58,237 spread across four tiers.

Spurs have a large fan base, but have in recent seasons been under performing, and while construction costs have fallen, financing is a big hurdle to be crossed.

Another issue that the owners face is that unlike their bitter rivals Arsenal who built the 60,000 Emirates Stadium a few years ago - White Hart Lane lacks the numerous train lines to allow fans to easily leave the stadium and surrounding area. There are four (three of which are tube) stations surrounding the Emirates, compared to two (none are tube) stations for White Hart Lane.

Also like the Emirates, White Hart Lane is located in an urban area and parking is not a serious consideration, unlike most North American stadia. The great bonus of this is that the communities are tight-knit with business and residential premises right up against the stadiums, creating an eccentric neighbourhood atmopshere absent in the US and Canada (ie no swathes of car park).

Being so close to the community also means that the new stadium will incorporate new facilites for the community including a new public square, new housing, a hotel, a museum, and shops.

The new White Hart Lane would become London's fifth largest stadium (Wembley: 90,000, Twickenham: 82,000, 2012 Stadium: 80,000, Emirates: 60,000), but it could be London's 7th largest stadium if West Ham (60,000) and Chelsea (60,000) manage to officially announce, finance and build their stadiums.

Pictures sourced by Jim B at SSC.










Wimbledon Centre Court, Retractable Roof

Work is coming to a close on an expanded Centre Court (15,000 capacity) with a new retractable roof.






London 2012

Aquatic Centre. Pictures taken by Manuel at SSC.






Olympic Stadium. Pictures taken by Manuel at SSC.












And MartinLeRoy from SSC has created some amazing renders of the Olympic stadium. It is planned that the 'wrap' will be a giant digital canvass that ensures that those not inside the stadium or in front of a TV can view the games. The London 2012 games will be about being as inclusive as possible to all people - a contrast and defining difference to the Beijing Olympics.

[nito]

London 2012 Olympics Update


Pictures sourced from darrenjle15 @ Flickr. Pictures taken by Anthony Charlton

Olympic Stadium








Aquatic Centre








Velopark








International Broadcasting Centre




Olympic Village

[nito]

Aquatics Centre


Update of the 2012 Aquatic Centre from the ODA. Images and tex sourced by DarJoLe from SSC.

New images released by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) show that the wave-shaped roof of the London 2012 Aquatics Centre has reached its halfway point.



The lift of the 160m long 2,800 tonne roof started just three months ago and is considered one of the most complex engineering and construction challenges of the Olympic Park ‘big build’. The roof frame, built with steel fabricated in Newport and assembled on site on just three concrete supports, is on track to be completed this summer.



The Zaha Hadid designed Aquatics Centre will be the gateway to the Park and in legacy will provide two 50m swimming pools, a diving pool and dry diving area - facilities London does not have at present.

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: 'Work on the Aquatics Centre is on track and the sweeping roof that will form the ‘Gateway to the Games’ is taking shape in the skyline alongside the Olympic Stadium.



'The big lift one of the toughest construction and engineering challenges on the Olympic Park. It is showcasing the world class expertise delivering the venues and infrastructure for London 2012 and regenerating east London for future generations.'

Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee Sebastian Coe said:

'The Aquatics Centre is going to be a spectacular venue for the Games in 2012 and its iconic roof will be a fantastic addition to the east London skyline. At Games-time, I personally hope it will be the scene of further success for Team GB, but just as importantly I look forward to London at last having a state of the art aquatics facility for elite and community use for decades to come. Progress has been impressive, but the long term significance of this venue is something really quite special.'



Raising the roof
When complete the 160m long column-free and up to 90m wide roof will rest on two concrete supports at the northern end and a 28m long and 5m wide, supporting ‘wall’ at its southern end.

A huge 30m steel truss weighing over 70 tonnes has been lifted into place on top of the southern wall and this been connected to ten steel trusses which will span up to 120m to the two northern roof supports.

Steel trusses fabricated in Newport from plate rolled in Gateshead, Motherwell and Scunthorpe, are being assembled on the Aquatics Centre site and connected together 20m off the ground on three rows of temporary support trestles.



Twenty five trusses are in place and once the huge steel roof frame is complete this summer it will be lifted up to two metres at its southern end, turning on complex rotating joints in the northern roof supports. The temporary trestles will be removed and the 160m long roof frame lowered on to its three permanent roof supports, which have been built with over 20,000 tonnes of concrete.



As the full weight of the roof rests on its supports it will slide approximately 20cm into its joints on the southern wall. The roof has been designed, through wind tunnel testing and computer modelling, to stretch, twist and contract in response to the effects of snow, wind and changing temperatures.



Once the steel roof is in place this summer work will begin on the aluminium roof covering. Installation will then start next year on the timber cladding of the ceiling which will sweep outside to cover the northern roof supports.



The foundations of the permanent venue are complete and work will begin on the pool structure once the steel roof is complete.



Aquatics Centre factfile
1. The Zaha Hadid designed Aquatics Centre is located in the south of the Olympic Park and will be the main ‘Gateway into the Games', hosting swimming, diving, synchronised swimming, water polo finals and the swimming discipline of the Modern Pentathlon

2. The Aquatics Centre will have a capacity of 17,500 during the Games, reducing to a maximum of 2,500 in legacy, with the ability to add 1,000 for major events, and provide two 50m swimming pools, a diving pool and dry diving area - facilities London does not have at present

3. Eleven industrial buildings have been demolished on the 55,000 m2 site.

4. Around 160,000 tonnes of soil have been dug out on of what was one of the more challenging and complex areas of the Olympic Park, contaminated with pollutants including petrol, oil, tar, solvents and heavy metals such as arsenic and lead

5. Four skeletons were discovered and removed from a prehistoric settlement discovered on the site of the Aquatics Centre.

6. 140,000 tonnes of clean soil has been brought from other areas of the Olympic Park to prepare for construction to start.

7. Balfour Beatty is building the Aquatics Centre and huge land-bridge that forms the roof of the training pool and the main pedestrian access to the Olympic Park. Construction work will be complete in 2011 for test events ahead of the Games.

8. The sweeping roof, which is 160m long and 80m at its widest point, is an innovative 2,800 tonne steel structure with a striking and robust aluminium covering resting on three supports.

9. 25 steel trusses are already in place with the roof starting to take shape in the skyline.

10. The roof will be internally and externally clad with timber. The team is currently finalising its selection of the most appropriate timber both for the Games and in legacy before installation in 2010.

11. The river that runs alongside the venue has been widened by eight metre by building 550m of new river walls.

12. The huge completed southern roof support is nine metre high, 28m long, over 5 metres wide, using 850m³ of concrete

13. A 3,000 tonne concrete ‘bridge’ has been built spanning and protecting the tunnels which have been dug to run powerlines beneath the site. The northwest roof support has been built on top of this base.

14. Construction is complete on both the 18.5m tall north east and north west roof supports.

15. The foundations are complete for the huge landbridge that forms the main pedestrian entrance to the Olympic Park and the roof of the training pool in the Aquatics Centre and work is underway on all of the bridge supports.

[nito]

London 2012 Olympics

Bewlo picture shows the Aquatic Centre and Olympic Stadium continue to rise. Picture taken by tompagenet on flickr. Sourced by DarJoLe from SSC.



Pictures of the Olympic Village and new renders have been released















DarJoLe's pics of the Olympic Village u/c

[nito]

Olympic Stadium Update

Pictures sourced by DarJoLe from the 2012 Olympics site.

Looking south to Canary Wharf and the 02


Looking west to the Square Mile and West End - Aquatic Centre in the foreground


Last section of the support going up






3 years to go...