Several clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham, had enquired about moving into the stadium following the Olympics in the same way that Manchester City inherited the City of Manchester Stadium when the track was controversially ripped up after it had hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games.

 

But Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, has insisted that unlike Manchester the stadium must provide a permanent legacy for athletics. 

 

“The Olympic Stadium will be the centrepiece of the Olympic Park,” said Coe. “It must showcase the world’s best athletes for the best games ever, but also be capable of being used for decades to come by the local community as a living legacy from the 2012 games.”

 

The brief for building the stadium, which is due to begin construction in 2008, outlines the concept of London’s Olympic Stadium as a spectacular 80,000 seat venue for the games to host the track and field events and the opening and closing ceremonies. After the games it will reduce in size to 25,000 but retain the capacity to stage athletics events, but also with the potential to host different activities such as concerts, cultural, community and other sporting events.

 

Senior industry figures are privately expressing doubts whether, given soaring energy and construction costs, the stadium can be delivered to the forecast £280 million  budget. 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, said last year that “nobody was going to appreciate a procurement process, which ends up with a stadium which is not as good as Athens”. He questioned whether £280 million would deliver a stadium that would “meet the aspirations of London and the UK”.

 

Of the 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 new Emirates stadium thought to be the favourite. Taylor Woodrow and Lang O’Rourke are also thought to be interested.

 

"We are not going out to the market with a budget, because they will just bid up to that level," said David Higgins, the chief executive of the Olympic Delivery Authority. "We are going out to the market with a clearly scoped brief and the industry will tell us what it’s going to cost us. At that point we may or may not need to look again at our brief.

"We’re saying that we want the industry to innovate, come up with ideas – we want them to surprise us.

"The figure given in the candidate file was at 2004 prices and did not include inflation, which we are factoring in."

 

Higgins has pledged not to repeat the mistakes that occurred during the building of Wembley and that all the facilities for 2012 will be ready at least a year before the games are due to take place to ensure they can be fully fitted out and tested.

 

The start of the Stadium procurement process coincided with the publication yesterday by the ODA of the Olympic Park Delivery Programme. It sets out an indicative timetable for the delivery of venues. It is essentially a “2-4-1” process, with two years to plan, four years to build, and one year to test and commission the facilities.

“This is our delivery route map to 2012,” said Higgins. “I recognise it is a bold move setting out indicative target dates that we can be measured against but it is important that we are transparent and accountable. It is a timetable that is challenging but achievable and one that will require a relentless focus on delivery, timely decision-making and sound project management over the next six years.

“Some dates have moved. This reflects our ongoing detailed planning and project management. It makes little strategic sense to have venues completed and vacant for several years before the games when people cannot use them as there will be no access to the secure Olympic Park construction site and additional maintenance costs would be incurred.”

Coe added: “The integrated design and construction approach in our planning reduces risk and potential cost over-runs.  It will ensure that venues are ready not just in time for the Games, but also for test events. This means that operators of venues will gain vital experience in how venues perform. This will allow us to fine tune the venues to provide the best experience for athletes and spectators alike.”

 

A copy of the Olympic Park Delivery Programme leaflet is available at http://www.london2012.com/en/news/publications/

The London 2012 Olympic Stadium ‘Living Stadium’ Explanatory Document can be downloaded from the London 2012 business section www.london2012.com/business

This section also has a link to the relevant OJEU notice.