This meeting took place on 19 June 2014. Read the transcript here.
As West Ham United FC prepares to move into the Olympic Stadium [1] in 2016, the London Assembly is investigating if the Mayor’s promises for it to deliver a regeneration legacy can be fulfilled. How will Londoners benefit from the taxpayers’ multi-million pound investment into the Olympic Stadium?
Gareth Bacon, Chairman of London Assembly’s Regeneration Committee said,
“Building and now transforming the Olympic Stadium is a massive public investment; we want to ensure that all Londoners – and especially communities living nearby, benefit from the stadium for years to come.
“After some cities have hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Games their stadium has remained underused. We need to ensure our Olympic stadium becomes a vibrant, dynamic business and community asset.”
As the London Assembly’s Regeneration Committee launches its investigation it will tomorrow examine whether stadium developments have benefited the communities they are located within and what can be done to ensure there is a regeneration legacy from the millions invested in developing new football grounds [2]. Guests include,
- Gabriel Ahlfeldt, Associate Professor of Urban Economics and Land Development, LSE
- Pete Bradshaw, Head of Infrastructure and CSR, Manchester City FC
- Sarah Ebanja, Chair, Newlon Group, and independent consultant
- Ken Friar OBE, Director, Arsenal FC
- Michelle Moore, Moore Development Consultancy
- Antony Spencer, Stadium Capital Holdings
West Ham United Football Club follows a string of major clubs including Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur, and Queens Park Rangers who have either moved into, or have plans to develop a stadium.
The meeting will take place on Thursday, 19 June from 10.00am in Committee Room 5 (The Queen’s Walk, London SE1). Media and members of the public are invited to attend. The meeting can also be viewed via webcast.
Notes to editors
- The 80,000-seater Olympic Stadium – centrepiece of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games – cost £429 million to build. Following the Games, it is now being converted into a 54,000-seater stadium, for use by permanent tenant West Ham United FC (WHUFC), alongside athletics in the summer months and entertainment. Balfour Beatty Group has been appointed to lead the stadium transformation works at a cost of £154 million, with further contracts still to be let.
- The Regeneration Committee is investigating stadia-led regeneration in London - drawing on examples from the capital and beyond – to explore lessons learnt and best practices to engage with communities impacted by refurbished or new stadia.
- Gareth Bacon AM, Chairman of the Regeneration Committee, is available for interview. See contact details below.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For more details, please contact Alice Andrewartha in the Assembly Media Office on 020 7983 4603. For out-of-hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer. Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit, Greater London Authority, on 020 7983 4100.