The foundations of the London 2012 Handball Arena are complete and the public have a front row seat at london2012.com as the venue comes out of the ground.
The Handball Arena ‘Big Build’ started in July, two months early. Two hundred concrete columns have been drilled 25 metres into the ground to form the foundations with 55 pile caps and 550m of concrete ground beams.
The venue has started coming out of the ground with the lifting into place of thirteen of 30 concrete walls, which are pre-fabricated in Ireland and will support the upper tiers of the seating. The 10m high walls sit on top of a 300 tonne concrete slab.
Work is underway on the 1000 tonne steel frame of the Arena, which is being fabricated in Bolton. The steel frame is on track to be complete by next summer when work will also have started on the roof and external cladding, with the distinctive copper layer added later in the year
A new webcam is capturing the construction of the distinctive Arena which will include sustainable features such as 88 ceiling light pipes feeding natural light into the venue.
The Handball Arena is on track to be completed by summer 2011 ready for test events. During the Games the Arena will seat up to 7000 spectators and host qualifying games for the Handball competition as well as Modern Pentathlon Fencing and Goalball during the Paralympic Games.
After the Games, the sustainable Arena will become a multi-sports venue with retractable seating for around 6,000 spectators and flexible facilities catering for training and competition at all levels for indoor sports including: Basketball; Wheelchair Basketball; Boxing; Handball; Badminton; Judo; Netball; Futsal and Volleyball.
Olympic Delivery Authority Chief Executive David Higgins said:
'We are right on track to deliver a distinctive Handball Arena that will provide a great experience for competitors and spectators during the Games and offer a new sustainable and flexible facility for local people to enjoy a wide range of sports in legacy. Our new webcam enables people to watch first-hand the Arena coming out of the ground as well as the other permanent Olympic Park venues as the project enters its toughest year.'
Chairman of the London 2012 Organising Committee Sebastian Coe said:
'The Handball Arena will provide athletes the world over with a state of the art facility at Games-time and the local London community with a much needed flexible indoor sports arena in legacy. The new webcam will allow local residents and fans of the sport all over the world to chart the construction progress of what will be one of the great new build venues for the 2012 Games.'
The Olympic Park Legacy Company is responsible for the development, planning, management and maintenance of the Olympic Park site, including the Arena, after the Games. With the option to accommodate up to 1500 additional seats, the Company could also offer the venue for cultural, entertainment and business events.
Jules Pipe, elected Mayor of Hackney, said:
'The new multi-sports venue in Hackney is a great opportunity to offer local residents access to world-class facilities to take part in a wide range of sports, as part of the legacy of the 2012 Games. The Council will continue its work to offer all our residents further opportunities to enjoy healthy lifestyles through sport and physical activity.'
Handball Arena factfile
- The venue features over 3,000 sq m of external copper cladding, mostly recycled, to give it a distinctive appearance that will develop a rich natural colour as it ages.
- Over 700 sq m of glazing which encircles the building at concourse level will enable visitors to the Olympic Park to view sport taking place inside, and illuminating the venue when lit at night.
- The venue also has retractable seating to create a flexible legacy space and 88 light pipes in the ceiling to allow natural light into the venue.
- Rainwater harvesting from the roof for toilet flushing, will help to reduce water use by 40%.
- In legacy mode the venue will include a health and fitness club with changing facilities and a café for use by the local community.
- In legacy mode, the venue offers a 2,743 sq m field of play hosting sports including: 5-a-side football; Netball; Boxing; Basketball; Volleyball; Badminton; Table Tennis; Handball; and Futsal.
- The venue could also host in legacy: Hockey; Martial arts; Kabaddi; Wheelchair Basketball; Fencing; Sitting Volleyball; Goalball; Wheelchair Rugby, Wrestling, Weightlifting, Taekwondo, Table Tennis, Judo and Fencing.
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Notes to Editors:
1. Images of the Handball Arena designs and construction can be downloaded at:
http://mm.gettyimages.com/mm/nicePath/locog?nav=pr131966847 2. Planning permission for the Handball Arena was granted earlier this year and Buckingham Group Contracting was appointed to deliver the venue following a highly competitive appointment. Building on their successful delivery together of the MK Dons stadium in Milton Keynes Buckingham Group Contracting will be working with Populous on the detailed design and construction of the Handball Arena. The designers that created the sustainable and flexible design for the venue, Make Architects, will oversee the detailed design process on behalf of the Olympic Delivery Authority.
3. The steel frame is being fabricated by Watsons Steel in Bolton. The precast concrete walls are supplied by Banagher, which is based in County Offaly, Ireland.
4. In February, the LDA and London 2012 partners released draft outline legacy plans for the park - called the Legacy Masterplan Framework (LMF). These are currently being assessed by the new Olympic Park Legacy Company following a consultation earlier this year. The Company will take over from and build on the solid foundation of the legacy work currently being taken forward by the LDA which has been developing plans since London's successful bid to host the Games. For more information about the consultation visit
www.legacynow.co.uk The construction of the venues and infrastructure of the London 2012 Games is funded by the National Lottery through the Olympic Lottery Distributor, The Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the Mayor of London and the London Development Agency.
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