A new sports centre will be built on the site which will host Tennis and Archery during the Paralympic Games and be a training area during the Olympic Games.

In legacy it will be a new sports cluster centre for the local community.

Eton Manor has strong Olympic ties and a proud sporting heritage as the base of the Eton Manor Association, a club with famous sporting members founded in 1907.

Part of the running track used for the 1948 Olympic Games was transferred here after the Games and is buried underneath the site.

The first athletics meeting in the UK after World War Two was also held at Eton Manor.

Eton Manor Clubs moved out of the area over 25 years ago and, despite efforts by the operators, Lea Valley Parks, to encourage use of the area and the sports hall since 1975, poor transport links meant that the sports hall was forced to close in 2001.

The site is now overgrown and disused and the sports hall has become dilapidated and vandalised.

As well as the new sporting facilities, the Olympic Delivery Authority will also be building two new land bridges to better connect Eton Manor with the surrounding area.

London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe said: “This is another significant event for London 2012. Today we begin our site demolition by knocking down an old derelict building, and ultimately replacing it with state of the art sports facilities for Londoners to use and enjoy for generations to come.

"We have made excellent progress on the Olympic Park site this year, and this is another important landmark for us on the road to delivering a memorable Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.”

ODA acting chairman Sir Roy McNulty said:  "Today marks the start of a new sporting dawn for Eton Manor. We will be preserving the proud sporting heritage of this area by knocking down crumbling, disused facilities and replacing them with state of the art sporting venues that will be at the heart of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. 

“The new facilities we will build, along with the new bridges better linking them into the local community and new walking and cycling routes, will mean that London 2012 will leave a significant sporting legacy in the north of the Olympic Park for generations to come.

"We are planning Games and legacy together now to ensure we only build permanent venues if there is a long term legacy use.”

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said: “The beginning of the demolition on site is another important milestone met and underlines the excellent progress we have made to date on the preparation of the land that will comprise the Olympic park – a fact recognised recently by the IOC. 

“But it is also an example of our Olympic ambitions – the regeneration of a derelict and unused piece of land and a legacy of world class sporting facilities, not just for our elite athletes but for the whole community. 

"This is the power of the Games: a once in a lifetime to opportunity to affect the lives of millions for the better.”

Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone said: "Today marks a milestone towards our goal of leaving a lasting legacy of regeneration and modern sports facilities that will be used long after the Games are over.

"The new state of the art sporting facilities in Eton Manor will leave a significant sporting legacy for people throughout East London for generations to come."