Construction of the 2012 Olympic Stadium moved closer yesterday as the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd to design and build the venue.
The ODA began negotiations with Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd last October. A huge amount of design work and value engineering has taken place since then leading to today’s announcement. Designs will be released later in the autumn.
The MoU is legally binding and a prelude to signing the full contract at the next stage of design. It provides for the development of the stadium design and creates the potential for the early procurement of commodities such as steel and as such is a useful tool in de-risking the project and providing certainty on budget. Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd and their designers, collectively known as Team Stadium, will now be co-located with the ODA at their offices in Canary Wharf.
The brief for the Stadium is to create a spectacular 80,000 seat Stadium to host track and field events and the opening and closing ceremonies for both the Games. After the Games it will reduce to 25,000 seats but retain the capacity to host a variety of sporting, educational, cultural and community events with athletics as its core use. Building work is due to start, on schedule, in summer 2008 as set out in the Olympic Park timetable last year.
David Higgins, Chief Executive of the ODA said the MoU was “an important step forward in the delivery of the flagship venue for the Olympic Park for Games and for legacy.”
Tony Aikenhead, Project Director of Team Stadium, said they were “tremendously proud to be working with the ODA to interpret and deliver its vision for the centrepiece of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We are delighted to be entering the next phase of this immensely exciting project.”
