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2012 Olympic stadium plans to be launched this week

Plans for the construction of the 2012 London Olympic stadium are to be unveiled this week by the Olympic Development Authority, it has been reported.

With further delays still blighting the near £1 billion development of Wembley, the plans for Stratford in East London are sure to come in for close scrutiny, especially since the 80,000-seat arena is supposed to be delivered within a £250 million budget.

Insidethegames.com reports today that the Olympic stadium is thought no longer to be lined up as a possible future home for a Premiership football club. Instead it is expected to be used as a permanent athletics stadium, incorporating a London Olympic Institute, as pledged in the winning Games bid, but this offers additional complications to the plans – with inherent cost implications.

The construction industry has for some time been warning that the projected cost of the stadium is unrealistic and had reservations about the design.

Jay Parish, director of Arup Sport, who has designed the £450 million Beijing 2008 Olympic Stadium, has questioned whether £250 million would deliver a stadium that would “meet the aspirations of London and the UK”.

Of UK-based construction companies, there are thought to be three in the running for the project, with Sir Robert McAlpine, the builder of Arsenal’s Emirates stadium, thought to be the favourite. Taylor Woodrow and Lang O’Rourke are other contenders.

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