London 2012 Basketball Arena | 12,000 Capacity | Demo

[DarJoLe]

Scottish company starts 'big lift' of 10-storey high London 2012 Basketball Arena
30 Mar 2010
london2012.com

The 12,000 seat London 2012 Basketball Arena is coming out of the ground on the Olympic Park with the first of 20 10-storey high steel arches already lifted into place. The Arena is being built by companies from almost every UK nation and region.

The 35m-high, arching steel trusses which span 96m and 16 end trusses are being fabricated and assembled in Bolton with steel mostly produced in Teeside for the ‘big lift’ on site by the Glasgow based lead-contractor.

Once the 1,000-tonne steel frame of the temporary 115m long Basketball Arena is complete it will be wrapped in 20,000sq m of fabric cut in Bristol, which will form a canvas for an innovative changing lighting design during the Games. The temporary seating and accommodation around the venue will start to be installed this summer with the Arena on track to be complete by summer 2011 ready for Test Events.

During the Games will host Basketball preliminaries and women’s quarter-finals and Handball quarter-finals semi-finals and finals. During the Paralympic Games it will host Wheelchair Basketball and Wheelchair Rugby. The Arena will also house the athletes before they make their way down to the Stadium for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies.

ODA Chairman John Armitt said: 'The Basketball Arena is taking shape in the new east London skyline alongside the Velodrome and Olympic Village. The innovative and efficient design and construction is testament to the excellence of the companies across the UK delivering what is the largest temporary venue on the Olympic Park.'

LOCOG Chair Seb Coe said: 'This is another example of a superb sporting structure taking shape on the Olympic Park. It also demonstrates the involvement of a number of companies across the UK and the benefits of hosting the Games.'

The construction contractor will own the Arena structure, with the ODA renting it for the duration of the Games. Afterwards, the contractor will dismantle it to be reused elsewhere.

Notes to Editors:

1. The companies who have won contracts for the Basketball Arena include:

* Scotland – Barr Construction in Glasgow are building the structure;
* West Midlands – Slick Seating in Redditch are providing the temporary seating;
* South West – Base from Bristol are providing the membrane cladding for the outside of the Arena;
* South East – Envirowrap from Tenterden in Kent are providing the wrapping for the seats; MITIE Engineering Services (SE Region) Limited based in Surrey will be installing the mechanical and electrical Services in the Arena;
* London – UnitedVisualArtists in Borough are designing the external lighting for the arena; A london-based team (SKM, Wilkinson Eyre Architects and KSS Group) developed the concept design.
* Northern Ireland – McAvoy from Dungannon are building the temporary accommodation,
* East - Volker Fitzpatrick Limited from Hertfordshire will be fitting out the Arena;
* East Midlands: Morrison Construction from Leicestershire are undertaking the foundations and drainage;
* North east – Corus are providing the steel, mostly from their Teeside plant;
* North West – Watsons in Bolton are fabricating the steel;
* Yorkshire – Fullflow Group Ltd in Sheffield are a sub-contractor to Barr Construction and will be installing the syphonic drainage.

image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr


image hosted on flickr

[Metroguy78]

seems that 3 out of 4 of the sides are just about finished now. seems such a simple construction and good that it's easy to take down and move somewhere else. Maybe Glasgow could make use of this?

[Mo Rush]

Is LOCOG renting it from Barr?

[RMB2007]

Yep. Interesting to see that Base Structures from Bristol are providing the membrane cladding for the outside of the arena. Wouldn't mind seeing this thing moved to Bristol after the games.

http://www.theconstructionindex.co.u...sketball-Arena

[jdjones]

All looks and sounds very exciting, this arena could be the most beautiful building in the park, at night at least! Can't wait to see what the light shows will look like, did they say it was going to be LEDs or projections?? or both!

[eddyk]

This has shot up

[StephenP]

Jesus christ it has indeed!!!!:O
I thought this structure was going to take ages to build but it is actually looking quite advanced in its construction stages.

When does this venue finish construction?

[DarJoLe]

They all have to be by summer next year.

[AlexWalker]

Oooohhhh exciting!! The first section of membrane cladding has just gone up.

[ellipse]

Originally Posted by AlexWalker

Oooohhhh exciting!! The first section of membrane cladding has just gone up.

[Brightondan]

The second outer skin is on and with the sun behind gives an idea of how cool it will be with the internal lighting.image hosted on flickr

[Metroguy78]

As you'd say at mcds ... Im loving it.

[Jex7844]

Lovely indeed . However it looks as if this venue was temporary to me...is it supposed to be dismantled after the Games? (Sorry if it has ever been asked before).

[Metroguy78]

Yes this is to be dismantled and sent somewhere else after the games. Will be prob some uni / college / school campus at a guess.

[capslock]

Originally Posted by Metroguy78

Yes this is to be dismantled and sent somewhere else after the games. Will be prob some uni / college / school campus at a guess.

I think that would make the most sense. Bath or Loughborough perhaps... one of those big sporty unis with a bit of land.

Bit of a large marquee for weddings

[Madman]

Hmm Bath and Loughborough no doubt already have enough sports halls of their own i think, Glasgow 2014 would be have been an ideal relocation venue though (too late now i guess to organise that).

[Its AlL gUUd]

Originally Posted by Madman

Hmm Bath and Loughborough no doubt already have enough sports halls of their own i think, Glasgow 2014 would be have been an ideal relocation venue though (too late now i guess to organise that).

i think that would be rather embarassingt tho if Glasgow where to use this again in 2 years time.

[jdjones]

Originally Posted by Its AlL gUUd

i think that would be rather embarassingt tho if Glasgow where to use this again in 2 years time.

why would it be embarassing?

[connorwilliams]

Originally Posted by Its AlL gUUd

i think that would be rather embarassingt tho if Glasgow where to use this again in 2 years time.

Why? I think there's less of an embarrassment factor with the Commonwealth Games; as if we're on big family who understand each other and are more intelligent to figure out why certain things happen.

[RobH]

A quote from a tour of the Park led by the head of the ODA:

“See those two steel structures,” points Higgins to towering silver sticks high in the air.

“That is the start of the temporary basketball venue. They will come down after the Games and when the Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva saw it he thought he might like to take it back to Rio for the 2016 Olympics”.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/oth...challenge.html

Who knows whether this is likely or not, but I did read in the Rio 2016 thread that they're reviewing their venue plan, just as London did after it had won. Probably pie in the sky and just a jokey comliment from the Brazilian President, but not impossible I guess.