Olympic velodrome opens on time, on budget and is ‘best in the world’

The GB Cycling Team try out the new Velodrome. Photo: David Poultney / ODA

This article titled “Olympic velodrome opens on time, on budget and is ‘best in the world'” was written by Owen Gibson, sports news correspondent, for The Guardian on Tuesday 22nd February 2011 19.48 UTC

Five years and eight months after London was awarded the Olympic Games, organisers reached a milestone on Tuesday when the first venue on the site was opened and immediately acclaimed as the “best in the world”.

But there is also widespread agreement that the Olympic velodrome, opened on time and on budget, is likely to be the organisers’ smoothest ride, with trickier handovers ahead including the overbudget aquatics centre and the controversial main stadium.

Constructed over a period of 23 months, the £94m velodrome – dubbed the Pringle because its curving roof resembles a crisp – will provide an intense focal point for British hopes in 2012 and will seat 6,000 spectators per session for those lucky enough to get a ticket when applications open on 15 March.

It was praised by Team GB cyclists including Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton, as well as Olympic organisers and politicians, for combining state-of-the-art facilities with a long-planned legacy that will see Lee Valley Park Authority taking ownership in 2013 and turning it into a community cycling hub.

By contrast, there are fears that a legacy operator for the £269m Zaha Hadid-designed aquatics centre, which will house 17,500 spectators during the Games but become a 2,500-seat facility afterwards, will be hard to find due to difficulties in making it pay.

And despite the recent decision to award the £486m Olympic stadium to West Ham and Newham council after the Games, there remain concerns over whether athletics, football, community events and other sports can co-exist.

John Armitt, the Olympic Delivery Authority chairman, said the opening of the velodrome was “the biggest milestone to date” for the body charged with spending £8.1bn of public money constructing the 2012 venues.

Lord Coe, the chairman of the London Organising Committee (Locog), said it was “a stunning venue built for champions”, while the ODA has long believed it will be the “unsung hero” of the Olympic Park.

Coe said: “There’s a massive amount of work still to do. This is a completed venue in construction terms, but the mountain of technology, technical equipment, broadcasting, back of house, merchandising, catering … it’s a long, long way from being the theatre.

“But when you’re charged with delivering 26 simultaneous world championships, it’s nice to start ticking them off.”

The velodrome, its sweeping curves clad in cedarwood on the exterior and using 56km of Siberian pine on the heavily banked track inside, has been designed to be the fastest in the world.

Hoy, who helped choose the designers and was one of 10 sprinters to test it on Tuesday, said: “It feels fast. If it’s warm and the air pressure is not too high, combined with the fact athletes are going to be in the best shape of their lives at the Olympic Games, you will see world records go.”

The Scot, who led Team GB’s haul of eight cycling gold medals in 2008, said his advice included making sure toilets for cyclists were close to the track, ensuring consistent atmospheric conditions, maximising natural light and having seating all the way around to create a “gladiatorial atmosphere”.

Dave Brailsford, the British Cycling performance director, said the velodrome was the “best in the world” and praised the attention to detail.

“There can be problems with having a high temperature in the velodrome because people watching from the top row can faint in the heat,” he said. “There’s a clever solution here with split air conditioning that can make it warmer at track level than in the grandstands.”

Pendleton, who could target up to three gold medals in London, said the focus on the velodrome was testament to the explosion in the sport’s popularity and success in recent years.

The escalating cost of the aquatics centre, originally put at £73m, was justified on the basis that in a sea of otherwise mostly functional designs it would provide the architectural “wow” factor. But as the “water wings” – temporary stands which lift the capacity to 17,500 for the Games – have sprung up either side, some have begun to question whether they spoil the curves of the original design.

Armitt argued that the Hadid design would still look impressive – after the Games, at least. “When you look at that building in legacy it is going to look so good. And once you get inside during the Games, it will be a totally different feel from the one you get outside at the moment,” he promised.The Olympic Park Legacy Company recently put the operation of the centre, which will house two 50-metre pools and a diving pool and fills a long-standing gap in the provision of Olympic sized facilities in the capital, out to tender. But an early decision not to provide for leisure facilities to be added at a later date means some believe it will be difficult to attract the 800,000 visitors a year the OPLC forecasts. Regardless, it is likely to require significant ongoing subsidy.

Venue watch

Olympic Stadium (Cost £486m)

Structurally complete with roof and 80,000 seats installed. Turf about to be laid. On target to be handed over before 15 July, the date by which all sporting venues are due to be finished.

Aquatics Centre, above (£269m)

Permanent structure and wave-shaped roof in place; diving pool and two 50m pools being tiled; temporary “wings” to take capacity to 17,500 under construction. Recent National Audit Office report said the planned completion date of June, which has already slipped from April, would be “tight”.

Handball (£43m)

The 7,000-capacity arena will become a multi-sport venue after games. Structure, seating and flooring complete – due to be finished ahead of July deadline.

Basketball (£42m)

The temporary cube-shaped basketball venue is due to be finished early. Situated near the velodrome, the white structure will be dramatically lit at Games-time.

Olympic Village (£709m)

More than three-quarters of plots are structurally complete, with nearby school also nearly finished. Will house 17,000 athletes and officials during the games, before being converted into 2,818 apartments. On target for January 2012 handover.

Broadcast and press centres (£301m)

Structures of both cavernous buildings complete but finding a no legacy tenant could be challenging. On target for July 2011 completion.

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