The arena is being dismantled from its site at the Olympic Park in Stratford.

It was the largest single temporary structure ever created in Olympic history and was the third largest of all the venues at the London Games.

At 114m long, 96m wide and 35m high, the Arena occupies a footprint of 11,000 sqm and the main steelwork trusses span almost 100m.

The building shell being made available for sale consists of a 1,000 tonne skeletal steel frame and a 23,000 sqm recyclable white PVC fabric skin.

Work to dismantle the arena has already commenced and the dismantling of the iconic rippled outer envelope will start next month.

Barr retained ownership of the arena under the terms of a unique contract negotiated with the Olympic Delivery Authority.

Barr has now appointed commercial property consultancy BTWShiells and accountants Ernst & Young to handle the sale.

Managing Director of Barr Construction Barclay Chalmers said: “The Olympic Delivery Authority and LOCOG learned the lessons of previous Games and created the most sustainable, cost effective event in recent history.

“The Basketball Arena was one of the showpiece structures of the Games, but it was clear there would be no legacy use for a permanent basketball venue, hence the decision to create this temporary building.

“We see this facility being suitable for a range of different uses. Sport is obvious – it is big enough to house between 15 and 20 tennis courts, for example.

“It could also be reconfigured to become a conference, exhibition and events venue similar to the O2 in London, or even a film and TV studio.

“Despite the temporary nature of its design, we believe it can easily be reconstructed to offer excellent service for many, many years to come.”

Barr said it can provide storage, transportation and reconstruction services to a buyer.

Once expressions of interest have been received, a shortlist of prospective bidders will be invited to submit formal bids by April 30.

BTWShiells investment director Paddy Brennan said: “The Arena has global appeal and it will be very interesting to see where this iconic structure ends up and what it will be used for.

“The interest to date has been incredible and we anticipate its transportability and the fact it can be utilised for a variety of functions being key selling points.”

The 12,000 seats which were housed within the Arena during the Games are also up for sale under a separate deal by temporary seating provider GL events Slick Seating.