Work Begins On Final Olympic Venue

M@
By M@ Last edited 165 months ago
Work Begins On Final Olympic Venue

finalolympicvenue.jpg

This is 'Eton Manor', the final and perhaps least interesting games venue to begin construction. Actually, scratch that. It is a very interesting building when you look at its future use. During the games, it'll serve as a training area for aquatic events, with three 50 metre pools. It will then be used for wheelchair tennis in the Paralympics (presumably not in the pools). Finally, in legacy, the 'Manor' will serve as a hockey, tennis and five-a-side court. It's the Swiss army knife of venues.

While construction continues apace, the wider project faces a legal challenge over land use. Building firm Rooff was cleared off the Olympic Park in 2005 under compulsory purchase order. Now, the firm argues that it didn't get enough compensation for the forced eviction and has launched a test case in the High Court. If successful, a slew of similar claims could lead to cracks the Olympic piggy bank.

Last Updated 23 June 2010