SPORTS LEGACY
2012 OLYMPICS – training venues legacy
New sports facilities demonstrate how the investment and effort put into the Games generate a tangible legacy, says Simon Molden of Capita Symonds
anticipation, excitement and tension. Being successful – as demonstrated by
L
the images from Trafalgar Square and elsewhere – leads to a massive outpouring of euphoria. However, the path from this point is significantly more undulating and it has been anecdotally reported that many, if not all, successful bidding cities for major global sporting events experi- ence a “cycle of public sentiment”.
ondon’s experience amply shows that bidding for the Olympic and Para- lympic Games generates significant
PUBLIC OPINION The public mood rapidly turns from the initial euphoria to waning interest, apathy and then boredom and cynicism before starting to rise as the public re-engages in the final year. It then reaches full-on excitement and anticipation as the Games arrival looms large on the horizon. For London, it can safely be said that
the case has been no different. There is a stark contrast between the scenes of joy, witnessed in July 2005 and the seemingly unending negative reporting in the press over the last 18 months or so. Recent stories have focused on the supposed unfairness of the ticketing process, the war of words between West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur over who would be the best legacy custodian of the Olympic Stadium, the associated judicial review process, as well as that constant gripe of budget over-runs. All of these pay scant attention to the
evident successes of recent months, includ- ing the completion of a number of the key
Successful bidding cities for global sporting events endure a cycle of public sentiment
54 SPORTS MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK 2012
sites, such as the stadium, the handball arena and the elodrome, more than a year before the start.
COMMUNITY LEGACY On top of these issues can be laid the most commonly quoted concern of them all: will there actually be a tangible legacy for all of this effort and investment? In London’s case, there are a number of
very obvious examples to which one can point to answer this; such as the regen- eration of one of the most deprived areas of the capital, the creation of 500 acres of new park and a significant investment in the transport infrastructure. However, beyond this, there are also numerous specific delivery programmes that will also play a role in delivering a lasting legacy and one such example is the Games-time training venues. It is an obligation on any host city to
provide a series of training venues cover- ing all the Olympic and Paralympic sports for athletes to use during the event. In its submission to the International
Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2005, London proposed to meet this requirement through upgrading and investing in a
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