Opinion: Daft to demolish Olympic Stadium

Grant Prior 13 years ago
Share

Cash was always the worry during the Olympic bid as public purse watchers stressed over the 2012 investment programme not delivering value for money during tricky economic times.

But now it seems we are taking seriously Tottenham Hostspur’s bid to demolish the main £450m Olympic Stadium after just a couple of weeks of use.

The whole long-term sales pitch for the Games was regeneration of a fairly run-down part of East London and the creation of a lasting athletics and sports legacy for future generations of Olympians.

Now Spurs are a serious rival to West Ham’s bid to occupy the stadium post-Games and Tottenham want to tear-down all Sir Robert McAlpine’s hard work and replace it with a football ground of their own design.

It seems such an obscene waste of all that tax payers cash and would renege on all our promises to the Olympic authorities and athletes across the country.

Keeping a running track at the stadium was a promise set in stone during the UK 2012 bid.

West Ham realise that the pay-off for a new stadium and the surrounding infrastructure built at someone else’s expense is to keep the track despite the doubts of die-hard fans who worry about being too far from the pitch.

Spurs want the best of both worlds. They want the Olympic site, but not the ground in its current design so the solution in their eyes is simple – rip it down, build a new stadium and chuck UK Athletics some cash to keep them quiet by funding a revamp of Crystal Palace.

This smacks of football clubs thinking they are a law unto themselves and that money talks at every level.

But in this case cash could make a mockery of the whole Olympic ideal.

Pictures of demolition crews moving in on the Olympic Stadium just hours after the final 2012 ceremony would cause bewilderment across the globe.

A whole generation of athletes would also feel cheated by the hollow promises of politicians and officials who guaranteed a track and field legacy at the site.

And for what? So a north London club can move to east London to save a few quid on its previous plans to redevelop White Hart Lane – a venue dear to most Spurs fans’ hearts and one they don’t want to leave.

If Spurs win the race for the stadium and go through with their demolition plans where will it end?

The Velodrome is surely wasted on cyclists so why not turn it into a Tesco Metro and make the Aquatics Centre a casino while we are at it.

Legacy was a word bandied around constantly during the bid. Demolishing the stadium could leave us with a legacy as an untrustworthy laughing stock among the global sports community.

Latest news

Bouygues/Murphy JV confirmed for £2.3bn Thames tunnel job

BMJV clinches 4.2km Lower Thames Crossing road tunnel job
2 days ago

Berkeley keeping close eye on subbies as market softens

Supply chain insolvency now bigger threat than build cost rises
1 day ago

Roofing firm fined £881,000 after double fall

Court hears of two falls on sites involving same contractor
2 days ago

Plans in for £450m Coventry city centre regeneration

Work is expected to start next summer on City Centre South scheme
1 day ago

Galliford Try to upgrade Red Arrows base

Contractor seals quartet of RAF base upgrades
1 day ago

Strabag tunnel drive in Yorkshire sets new world record

Woodsmith potash mine tunnelling project to be included in Guinness World Records
2 days ago

McLaren and Arlington to develop York Central site

Developer deal signed for one of the UK’s largest city centre regeneration schemes
2 days ago

Watkin Jones plans 36-storey Glasgow tower

The Ard student rooms scheme will be Glasgow's second tallest building
2 days ago

Balfour Beatty on track for solid set of results

Country's largest contractor on course to meet financial targets
2 days ago

Brymor Group Southern heads for CVA

Hampshire builder applies for Company Voluntary Arrangement with its creditors.
2 days ago

Former Costain transport chief joins Aecom

Sue Kershaw takes up US-based vice president job with consultant
3 days ago

Industry’s best construction managers revealed

More than 80 now in the running for delayed awards: Full list
3 days ago

Materials prices plummet as housing demand slumps

Buyers report biggest fall in purchasing costs for 14 years
3 days ago

Welsh contractor Andrew Scott targets £90m turnover

Profit and revenue up at Port Talbot-based civils and building firm
3 days ago

M-AR buyer starts round of redundancies

30 jobs at risk after modular firm bought out of administration
3 days ago

First HS2 viaduct completes deck beam installation

EKFB completes beams for first of project's 50 major viaducts
3 days ago

Fatal accident at Laing O’Rourke Oxford site

Work suspended on site after tragedy
4 days ago

Homes lead the way as Bancon Group boosts turnover

Homes and contracting group looking to further growth in 2024
3 days ago

L&G Modular Homes scheme replaced by traditional build

Wolverhampton council chooses new partner and build method for £150m project
3 days ago

£33m Plymouth city centre homes scheme approved

Spring start for Bath Street scheme in Millbay regeneration area
3 days ago

Balfour renews £330m Lincolnshire highways deal

Firm will use its new operational control hub to promptly address network issues
4 days ago

Three Caledonian Modular-built schools to be demolished

DfE confirms Essex, Somerset and Northampton schools will be bulldozed and rebuilt
4 days ago

Gilbert-Ash takes £30m Tate Liverpool revamp

Work to start in the New Year on remodelling of iconic 1846 warehouse
4 days ago

HS2 Solihull mass transit enabling works out to bid

Bidding for £60m main works to start early next year
4 days ago

Modular health specialist Vanguard rescues M-AR

Deal with administrators sees Vanguard add production capacity with 100,00 sq ft offsite factory
4 days ago

Torsion forms JV to build £90m Leeds resi tower

Construction to start in January on one of Leeds' tallest towers
4 days ago

Approved change to concrete ‘recipe’ to slash carbon emissions

New approved concrete mixes will be able to blend finely ground limestone and fly ash
5 days ago

Network Rail unveils Cardiff South Central masterplan

Plans being drawn up for major housing-led mixed-use scheme
5 days ago

McLaren Living to revamp Watford police station site

Developer to submit plans for a major mixed-use development
5 days ago

National Grid £12.8bn HV civils framework hits market

Firms needed for major power line links and high voltage direct current converter stations
5 days ago

Contractor services