Northern Paulo wrote:
Yes, and I thought it was a crap idea then. :lol:
Lets face it, it was a badly thought out plan from the start, with the 'Its only going to be an atheltics track after the Games' idea. Now they realise that perhaps they might have been a little hasty with that statement. They've effectively wasted £millions (throughout a recession as well) and thats not including the almost half a £million on designing two mascots!
You just know its going to pee down with rain in the summer of 2012 don't you.:lol:
I have pretty much been like a broken record in regards to my opposition to a move to the Olympic Stadium from pretty much day 1. However, just because the ODA have not bent over and allowed us to do what we want with the Stadium, it does not mean they have been hasty.
When we bid for the OIympics, we championed two key legacies. The first was the regeneration of that part of the East End, and the second was to create a stadium that would further Athletics in Britain, and allow London to host Grand Prix events. Other parties were given plenty of opportunity to express an interest. There were no concrete offers. If there was, a stadium could have been built that would have suited both parties. So the ODA kept to the original plan of reducing the size of the stadium after the Olympics. We may not have won the bid if we had not had these two legacy promises.
The whole park has cost a lot of money, but how many jobs were created in this time of recession? Also, you can not just look at costs, we also need to factor in revenue. We will not know for sure until after the Olympics whether they show a profit or not. Would it be a waste if the East End gets a new park, a world class aquatics centre and veledrome and the whole event has shown a profit?
You also need to take into account other factors. Look at the investment in housing, both in the park and in Stratford Town Centre. Look at the new Westfield centre. A whole area that was previously wasteland will have been regenerated.
As for the Mascots, again we should not just look at costs. Whether you like them or not, the mascots will generate more revenue than they cost in merchandising alone.