Seeking temporary venues with flair

Tenders for the design of the Basketball and Fencing Arenas in the Olympic Park went out today, described as a challenging but exciting project for companies to bid for.

The venues are larger than usual for a temporary sporting venues, holding up to 12,000 spectators.

They will need to be lightweight, economical and easy to put up and take down.

ODA Director of Design and Regeneration, Alison Nimmo, said: "We are only committed to building permanent venues in the Olympic Park where there is a long term legacy use for them.

"That means adopting an innovative approach to temporary venues.

"We are looking for solutions that combine design flair and innovation with practicality and cost efficiency. At the same time we are investigating how these facilities could be best utilised after the Games."

3 May 2007

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