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Olympics chiefs are finalising a £60million deal for the 2012 basketball arena to become the world's largest portable sports venue.
Under the deal, a British firm which specialises in sport facilities will build and own the 12,000-seat structure.
The Olympic Delivery Authority will rent it for the summer of 2012. The company, as yet unnamed, will then find it a new home in Britain.
The ODA has opted not to build the basketball venue itself, which it thinks might have cost an extra £40million. The Liverpool Arena designed by Wilkinson Eyre, also the architects for the basketball project, is similar in size and cost £100million.
Olympics chiefs are under pressure to contain costs of temporary structures, including the Woolwich shooting and Greenwich equestrian venues, because they leave no sports legacy.
As the third largest venue in the Olympic Park, the arena poses one of the biggest procurement challenges to the ODA. It is seeking deals with separate companies to supply changing rooms, 12,000 seats, electricals and giant "coolers" - an eco-friendly alternative to air conditioning.
It is expected that basketball will attract hundreds and thousands of fans in the first week of the Games. Security around the venue will be particularly tight as US President Barack Obama is expected to be there to watch the United States "Dream Team".
The venue will also host the final stages of the Olympic handball tournament, shooting and fencing in the modern pentathlon and serve as a holding pen for athletes before the opening ceremony in the stadium.
The basketball arena is temporary as the land it occupies in the north of the Olympic Park is needed for commercial development after the Games. Olympics chiefs had proposed last year to relocate basketball to Wembley but the move was strongly opposed by international basketball chiefs who said this would move the sport away from the core of the Games.
During the Olympic bid, it was claimed that temporary venues may be exported after 2012 to developing nations. But under the rental model the leasing company will decide the use of the venues.
An Olympic source said: "Renting parts of the venue in this way is sustainable for legacy and may enable us to make further savings. The basketball arena will be one of the largest temporary venues built for any Games and will provide a great experience for spectators and athletes."
In November 2007 the ODA appointed Sinclair Knight Merz, Wilkinson Eyre and KSS Group to design the basketball arena. The designs were agreed in June last year, and planning approval was gained in March. Most spectators will get to the venue via Stratford Regional, Stratford International and West Ham stations.
Reader views (4)
Does anyone apart from a few geezers in Harlem actually play basketball?It's got to be the most pointless sport going.Don't fund it,scrap it.
- Steve, London, 02/07/2009 14:34
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60M is bad enough,but basketball?
- Steve, London, 02/07/2009 12:28
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So, 'The Olympic Delivery Authority will rent it for the summer of 2012. The company, as yet unnamed, will then find it a new home in Britain'. Thereby a portable Olympic venue stops being portable. Sell it to a circus, then all he clowns involved could perform there. No wonder there is £100 million missing!
- Alan, carlisle uk, 02/07/2009 09:51
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The olympic committee have not answered my question regarding the £100 MILLION which is allegedly missing from the olympic purse. KPMG have sent a team of forensic accountants in to investigate the matter but the committee say their findings will not be made public. As it is tax payers' money we have a right to know if any irregularities in their accounting practices are uncovered.
- R.F., Yorks, UK, 02/07/2009 09:32
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