Olympic Park project looking good as it enters the home straight

I recently had the pleasure of taking part in a tour of the Olympic Park at Stratford. I use the word “pleasure” hesitantly, as I know feelings on the Olympics still remain high, with many unconvinced of the supposed benefits of London hosting the Games.

As I wrote earlier this year, I’m strongly in the “for” camp when it comes to opinion on the Olympics. My view is that without it, there would be no catalyst for regenerating this part of London. In all likelihood, the investment that’s already poured into the area in the shape of transport improvements, the Westfield shopping mall and the Olympic Park itself, would have been diverted elsewhere. As a result, this area would have remained desolate, because trust me, if you aren’t familiar with area now known as the Olympic Park, I can assure you that it was an absolute wasteland before development work started.

However, I appreciate that the project has not been short on controversy, and football has of course been at the forefront of that, with negotiations around the use of the stadium post-Games now becoming something of a farce. I think we’ve all heard more than enough about that particular spat between West Ham, Leyton Orient, Tottenham Hotspur, Newham Council, the Mayor of London, the Government, LOCOG…..as I said, we’ve heard enough and far better to instead look at how the park is shaping up, with little over eight months until the Games begins.

Many of you will probably have seen artistic photographs of the completed venues and on the whole, it’s hard not be impressed by them. Whilst the Olympic Stadium does not have the iconic uniqueness of something like Beijing’s Bird’s Nest, it remains an imposing structure that dominates the whole park. Whilst not a thing of beauty, it’s by no means an unpleasant structure.

The Aquatics Centre on the other hand, with it’s wave-inspired roof, is certainly amongst the most impressive sights you will see in the park. Given the appalling shortage of international standard swimming facilities in the country, it is also probably the venue that will offer the clearest opportunity for genuine sporting legacy.

Similarly the Velodrome is very aesthetically pleasing structure, that will probably play host to Britain’s best performances during the Games next year. Visible from the nearby A12, it’s a venue that turns the heads of many drivers and it’s a wonder that daily car crashes are not commonplace as a result. Again, it will give aspiring cyclists another opportunity to use world-class facilities for years to come. 

Perhaps even more importantly is that both the Aquatics Centre and Velodrome cater for non-mainstream sports, that if promoted and managed properly, could experience a surge in interest post-Games. The vast majority of children can both swim and ride a bike and enjoy doing so; there is no reason why the combination of top facilities and increased exposure cannot harness that interest, and bring those sports into the mainstream with a generation of British stars.

The tour also takes in the Basketball Arena. Now for me, this is the most disappointing of the venues. Many of you will have seen photographs of the arena, which has a large white bubble-like façade that it is visible for miles around. It’s an ugly structure that symbolises neither basketball or sport in anyway. In fact, it simply screams “temporary structure”, which is exactly what it is. The fate of the venue after the Games have finished seems to be a grey area; it will be dismantled and used for other purposes, perhaps the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, perhaps not. If the commitment wasn’t there to smash the thing down once the final game has taken place, this would be the most whitest of white elephants.

The Handball Arena has a more assured future. A large copper-coloured building, it looks more like one of the historic factory buildings that border the park to the west, than a sporting venue. Now I have handball tickets for next year, and this has caused much merriment amongst my friends and family, who quite rightly point out that neither I, or anyone we know, has any clue about handball. With that in mind, it’s hard to imagine the venue packing people in for handball fixtures after London 2012 has finished, which presumably is why it’s being earmarked for community sports use afterwards. Handball, basketball, indoor football and other non-sporting events will be able to take place in the arena, which for me seems to be one of the more sensible legacy decisions.

But as well as the venues, we also get to see a glimpse of the huge landscaping project currently taking place in the park. Anyone with an interest in the Olympic Park project will probably have seen computer generated images of beautifully manicured lawns leading to crystal clear canals and waterways throughout the park. Families were digitally inserted into the images to create a vision of relaxation and comfort in London’s newest open space. Knowing the area before the project started as I did, I was dubious they could pull this off, but in actual fact the landscaping is perhaps the most impressive part of the project. It looks just how the optimistic images proposed it would, and you can really imagine families using the space for years to come. Crucially, this is a legacy benefit that can be realised by people with no interest in sport whatsoever.

As well as the open spaces, we’re also shown other examples of non-sporting development work. The Athletes Village looks like a huge modern housing development, which is exactly what it will be turned into once the athletes have packed their bags, hung their medals round their necks and jetted off back to their home countries. A new school to cater for the increased number of residents to the area has already been built and is ready for its first intake. 

Other housing plots are also highlighted to us, although we’re tasked with stretching our imagination to its limits, as bricks and mortar will not be seen on many of these until the Games finish. One only hopes that the necessary infrastructure - bars, cafes, restaurants, youth and leisure facilities, community centres - follow the construction of these new housing estates, as otherwise the social ills of failed regeneration projects of yesteryear will rear their heads again.

All in all I was once again hugely impressed by the Olympic Park. Excellent venues have been created well ahead of schedule, and genuine thought given to improving the area beyond the lifespan of the Games and even some of the venues. I understand that the disruption, congestion and cost remain concerns for people, but I urge you to look a little closer at the project, and beyond 2012, to see the positive impact that hosting the Olympics could have.

If you would like to get a good view of the Olympic Park before the Games begin, I recommend the following:

• Taking the Docklands Light Railway from Stratford to Canary Wharf - excellent views of the stadium, Aquatics Centre and Orbit.
• Joining the Greenway cycling and walking route, that cuts through the site of the park.
• Head to the View Tube near Pudding Mill Lane Station, which as well as offering views of the park, includes a café and information resources.