Boxing clever?
Anybody know an indoor venue which 2012 can use for boxing?
Olympic bosses are still struggling to persuade the sport to move away from the complex in east London and move to .
2012 need boxing to switch venues because they have ditched a plan to build a temporary arena near the 02 at Greenwich to save money and are playing chess with some of the sports.
But people in boxing,like badminton which was offered the same deal,don't fancy the long journey from the Olympic village at Stratford to north London.
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The fact is there aren't many suitable indoor venues which are big enough for the Games. That's why the capital needs the Olympics.
What do you think?
Somebody suggested the the other day, obviously not a Proms fan, because, of course, it would clash with the concerts.
And we're also expecting to see an array of "Olympic Proms" concerts before and after the Games and you can't expect Sir Simon Rattle to move aside for a few Cuban heavyweights.
The 02 is obviously already taken for gymnastics.
There are companies which turn outdoor stadiums into indoor ones. Could it be possible to turn West Ham's ground into an indoor stadium for boxing? Or would it work at the Emirates which has excellent facilities?
The people in London boxing I've talked to want the sport to stay in east London, which is its spiritual home in the capital.
Surely there must be an alternative to asking boxers to trek across the capital? Remember, this is the Games where athletes were promised they would compete not commute.
I'm ´óÏó´«Ã½ London's Olympics Correspondent, which means I report on every aspect of the preparations for 2012. I'm going to be telling you what people are saying about London's preparations - both in the Olympic corridors of power and on the streets of the capital - and I want to hear your views.
Comment number 1.
At 20th Jun 2009, thegame99 wrote:I was born and raised in Wembley and I am a Wembley resident. I went to medical school in East London (close to where the Olympics are being held) and I commuted every day using public transport between Wembley and to my campus and various hospitals in the east end. I did this journey just as thousands of other London citizens do their journeys every day.
I think that the boxing and other sports should be held in Wembley, not just the football. London is a huge city and it is only fair that the different areas of London get to stage different sports. Let us not forget that it is, "London 2012", not "East London 2012".
My commute was one hour every day. This is reasonable and will not be a burden for the athletes. They do not compete every day and they do not necessarily have to train for where their actual event is held.
My family and I want to see world class athletes perform at our doorstep and we have the world class facilities here for where they can indeed perform at the highest level.
So what's the problem???????????????
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Comment number 2.
At 20th Jun 2009, adoharrington wrote:What about York Hall in Bethnal Green? Big enough, got the history, and right in the East End?
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Comment number 3.
At 21st Jun 2009, Graham Newsom wrote:A one hour commute from Stratford to Wembley sounds like the ideal preparation for the bout of a lifetime for Olympic boxers. Not that I'd expect to get there in an hour during Games time.
What a pity that LOCOG seem unable to keep their bid document promise of venues within half hour travel time of the Olympic Village. Perhaps its time for the IOC to start driving a harder bargain. With none of the main players prepared to take the necesarry action our boxers will be the losers again. Given the fantastic job done by Terry Edwards in Beijing our boxers should expect better support. Instead it looks once more that boxing will be the poor relations when it comes to competing on home soil.
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Comment number 4.
At 22nd Jun 2009, stan_marsh wrote:York Hall??!! You've obviously never seen the Olympics adoharrington, or never been to the York Hall.
Capacity wise, it's about 8,000 short of what is needed, you would barely get the media and the officials in, and the facilities for changing rooms, press rooms, drug-testing rooms, security etc etc are not even close. The Albert Hall is to small and that's eight times the size.
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Comment number 5.
At 23rd Jun 2009, kndblog wrote:Only other place not mention is Alexandra Palace.
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Comment number 6.
At 23rd Jun 2009, nielsri wrote:Why not have the boxing in Hull at the KC Stadium? Cheap accomodation around - you could build a sports village for peanuts and bring the olympics to the UK not just London. Share the wealth!!!
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Comment number 7.
At 6th Jul 2009, cs15hammer wrote:I thought they could and were already going to use the London ExCel arena? That's what the official 2012 says. It's already there and has hosted boxing before.
Otherwise how about Wimbledon Center Court! Sits 15,000! Would be a perfect boxing venue, designed to get the players close to the ring! The Tennis players could all move to Queen's Club, they won't mind!
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Comment number 8.
At 15th Jul 2009, PhilipRostance wrote:Why does it have to be in London after all? Bring it to the north west of England and save us travelling up to London!
Echo Arena in Liverpool would be fine and you would be able to be the boxing matches without binoculars!
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