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Moving Olympic media centre would save £100m
Matthew Beard, Sports News Correspondent28.11.08
COST-cutting proposals to move part of the 2012 media centre from Hackney to Stratford City have taken a step forward.
2012 chiefs outlined plans for facilities for 10,000 print journalists to be moved in a meeting with the International Olympic Committee this week.
The move would see the journalists housed in an office block within Westfield's Stratford City complex at an estimated saving of £100million.
The alternative would be for the facility to remain on its original site, but in a temporary building, next to the broadcast centre in Hackney.
An IOC source said: "We have asked the organising committee to come back to us with their preferences. We need to be sure that transport works in both options."
Even if the facility remains in Hackney it will be modest in comparison to the planned £380million structure that was to have been transformed after 2012 into a "digital city", creating 8,000 jobs in the borough.
Hackney mayor Jules Pipe told the Standard a move to Stratford would be a "betrayal" of legacy promises.
He said: "The media centres are a critical part of transforming one of the most deprived areas in the country. The legacy cannot be allowed to fail.
"It would be a betrayal of the promise made to the IOC and, more importantly, the people of Hackney and east London." Original plans to create a 1.3 million sq ft media centre in Hackney Wick have been abandoned as private funds dried up.
While the press centre looks increasingly likely to relocate, the other half of the media complex - the broadcast centre - may remain in Hackney.
Private developers Igloo, who were to part fund the original plan, have dropped out. Carillion have been retained for the construction.
The Olympic Delivery Authority hopes to give an update on the project ahead of the start of building in the spring.
Reader views (6)
Can we not move it out to Liverpool or something?! I have no more money to pay for anything like this!!
- Georgie, Islington, London
If we move the media centre to Beijing we could save even more money. I mean they have a nice new one there already tried and tested and with the technology available nowadays no one could tell where the filming was coming from could they ?
- Mr S.Port, London
they are a waste of money any way in any part of the world when the world is in such debt there is no sense in them
- Graham Gomersall Freeman, hull yorkshire
I think it will be highly unusual if this project is finished in time for the Olympics. Has the government got a contingency plan?
- Real, London
And scrapping the whole thing would save even more.
- Steve, London
How stupid were people to have believed promises from any of the labour politicians.
- Helen, norwich
