The Fuzzy Future of London's Olympic Stadium

Does anyone want a nearly new stadium? If so, London seems to have one still going spare. The city’s new 80,000-seat facility in the Olympic Park has yet to find a permanent post-games occupant, even though bids for the privilege were supposed to have finished by May 21. Faced with limited enthusiasm, Olympic chiefs have put back the closing date for bids by eight more weeks. If a viable bid doesn’t turn up soon, there is concern that the building may end up as one more Olympic white elephant.

If so, it will join a large rank of Olympic projects that partially failed their transition into civilian life. Beijing’s Bird’s Nest Stadium, for example, now sees more action as a tourist attraction than a sporting facility. While it hosts some soccer matches and track and field events, Reuters stated last month that the stadium’s current annual revenue will not allow it to recoup its costs for at least 30 years. Athens’ 2004 Olympic Stadium, meanwhile, is edging toward dereliction, too expensive to maintain for a government struggling to deliver basic services. Used for some sporting events and rock concerts, the building is at least still functioning, unlike the majority of Athens’ Olympic venues which now lie empty. Overall, the country's more recent Olympics have left such a poor legacy that, despite Greece’s recent bonanza of sports spending, many Greek athletes now choose to train in the better-maintained facilities of nearby Cyprus.