IOC backs London 2012 stadium switch

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(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-11-27 01:07

The International Olympic Committee has agreed in principle to scrap plans for a proposed new temporary venue near the London Olympic Park and move badminton and rhythmic gymnastics to an existing venue because of the "exceptional circumstances" of the recession.

London 2012 organisers had proposed switching venues to keep costs down during the longest and deepest downturn in decades, despite initial protest from the sports' bodies.

The decision follows months of uncertainty, but the IOC denied the deal would set a precedent for future bid cities to change their plans.

"We just hope we won't have a world financial crisis every four years," Denis Oswald, head of the IOC's co-ordination commission, said at the end of a two-day visit on Thursday.

"This is, I think, exceptional circumstances, and when we had the request of using an existing facility rather than building a temporary facility, which would not leave any legacy, we found it was reasonable.

"But it does not mean that we would accept it under any circumstances."

A final agreement on scrapping the North Greenwich Arena 2 in favour of Wembley arena is not expected until early next year after the sports federations have discussed the deal at their board meetings.

"The two federations have been very cooperative," Oswald added. "They understand that facing the current economic situation, it was wise to look for a cheaper option."

Badminton England, which is hoping to win two medals in 2012, had argued the travel time between the Olympic Village and Wembley arena on the other side of the city would damage athletes' performance.

But the IOC said training facilities and accommodation would be found near the arena, making travel time less critical.

The decision to re-locate these two sports is good news for boxing which strongly opposed being forced away from the conveniently positioned ExCel to accommodate them.

Games organisers would not say how much money would be saved, but media reports have put construction costs for the now scrapped North Greenwich Arena 2 at 40 million pounds.

London's Olympic budget has already spiralled from an initial estimate of 2.4 billion pounds to 9.3 billion pounds.