Olympic sporting venues underway
A number of key sporting venues for the 2012 Olympics have made progress over the past few months.
The 6,000-seat Velodrome has a completed and watertight roof. Work is underway to install the timber cycling track. The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) aims to create the world’s fastest cycling venue by tailoring track geometry and internal environment to create record-breaking conditions.
The legacy VeloPark will be owned and managed by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. The facility will be used by elite athletes and the local community. It will include a café, bike hire and cycle workshop facilities.
Also well underway is the 2012 Aquatics Centre pool. At a ceremony in September, Olympic swimmer and world champion Mark Foster laid the first tiles in the pool. With a unique 160 m-long wave-shaped roof, the Aquatics Centre will be the gateway to the games. During the games, the pool will have a capacity of 17,500. After the Olympics it will become a 3,000-capacity venue providing two 50 m pools for athletes and the local community.
The ODA has recently approved plans for a temporary water-polo arena. The 5,000-seat venue will have a distinctive inflatable roof made from recycled PVC cushions. The venue has been designed to be taken down after the Olympics and used elsewhere.
