London announces stadium costs

An artist’s impression of the London Olympic stadium [GALLO/GETTY]

London 2012 officials have confirmed the cost of the Olympic Stadium and the aquatic centre, and announced the names of the British firms that will build them.

The 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium, which will be built by a consortium involving Robert Alpine, HOK Sport and Buro Happold, remained at $976.2 million.

That includes the price of converting it to a 25,000-seat athletics venue after the games.

The Olympic Delivery Authority said the cost of building the 17,500-capacity aquatics center and the land bridge that will be the main gateway into the Olympic Park will be $596.3 million.

The swimming center component will cost $476.3 million.

That venue, which will be built by Balfour Beatty, will be reduced to 2,500 seats after the games.

The ODA also revealed the cost of the velopark within the Olympic Park, which includes an indoor track and a BMX circuit.

The cost of the venue, and work to add features after the games, will be $157.4 million.

A contractor will soon be announced, with construction due to start next year.

“All of these venues will not only provide state-of-the-art facilities for the games in the summer of 2012 but also provide permanent legacy facilities for elite and community use long after the games have gone,” ODA chief executive David Higgins said.

The ODA also said it had set up an 11-member independent dispute avoidance panel to avoid any problems during construction.

Disputes with contractors contributed to the two-year delay in completing Wembley stadium, which opened in March 2007 in northwest London.

“This independent panel will help us and our contractors work together to identify and resolve any potential issues early,” Higgins said.