Investigating the 2012 Olympics Stadium and the Wembley Stadium

1.Introduction

Project management has changed to plan, manage as well as organize the complex and different performances of modern industrial, business and organization change and IT projects. Every projects share a common feature which is the projection of ideas and performance into new activities. The pervasive factor of risk and uncertainty means that the actions and tasks leading to completing the project can certainly not be predicted with total accuracy. Cases of projects that have gone beyond their expenses by massive sum of money, not on time or being neglected before completion, such failures are common and seen in all kinds of projects in manufacturing, business and the public sector.

The purpose of project management is to predict various risk and trouble as possible and to plan, manage and organize activities so that projects are completed successfully in spite of all the risks. The main aim of a project manager is for the product of the project to suit what the client as well as all the other major stakeholders requested for, within the promised timescale and without asking for additional money or resources than what was initially budgeted.

The Olympic Stadium will host the Athletics and Paralympics Athletics events at the

London 2012 Games, as well as the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The Olympic

Stadium is a professional stadium intended to be as sustainable as possible while catering for an Olympic event. The Olympic Stadium design was promoted as an example of sustainable progress; however a number of architecture reviewer have queried both its aesthetic value and suitability as a national icon especially when compared to Beijing National Stadium.

Wembley stadium is a 90,000-capacity venue is the second largest stadium in Europe, and serves as England’s national stadium. It is the home venue of the England national football team, and hosts the latter stages of the top level domestic club cup competition, the FA Cup.

2. Olympic Stadium Overview

The games

Every four years, a new Host City begins its preparations for the Summer Olympic Games and Paralympics Games. The timing and the preparation are usually conducted under intense analysis, with the motive to meet the deadline for the completion of the project prior to the delivery of the project.

The London’s 2012 Olympics games bid was based on the fact that it will make a massive change in London as well as the United Kingdom through the Olympic Games and Paralympics’ Games. The location of the 2012 Games will be the Olympic Park in east London, which is known for its diverse communities in the United Kingdom, and at the western edge of the Thames Gateway the biggest regeneration project in Europe.

2.1 The organisations

There are two major organisations that there main focus is to make sure the delivering of the London 2012 Games is remarkable, they are namely:

2.1.1 The London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG):

this organisation is responsible for plannin g and staging the Olympics Games. LOCOG is a private company limited by guarantee, and makes approximately all its financial support from the sale of tickets and products, sponsorship and broadcasting revenues which could be a total of ?2 billion. The London 2012 brands the support the games needs to be very confined to ensure that the funds can be raised and use for the intended purpose.

2.1.2 The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA):

this organisation is responsible for building the new venues and infrastructure for the Games, and make sure that they have a practical legacy use. The ODA is also responsible for converting the Olympics park for long-term use after the games is over. The ODA, which is also the planning authority for the Olympic Park site in east London, is a public body supported through council tax, National Lottery and regeneration funding.

The ODA’s work is underpinned by six main concern themes which are: design and accessibility, employment and skills, equality and inclusion, health, safety and security, sustainability, and legacy.

LOCOG and the ODA are supported by the different London 2012 stakeholders, who are also responsible for ensuring that United Kingdom athlete, London, and the United Kingdom as a whole gain as much as possible from the 2012 Games.

2.2 The London 2012 stakeholders

2.2.1 The British Olympic Association (BOA)

The BOA chooses leads and prepares Team GB at every summer, winter and Youth Olympic Games. The BOA is not supported financially or controlled by government as it is completely dependent upon commercial sponsorship and fundraising income to provide the support for Team GB. The BOA is also responsible for promoting the Olympic spirit and ideas through the charitable arm which is known as the British Olympic Foundation.

2.2.2 The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) is responsible for the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006, the generally finances of the Games, and sponsorship of the Olympic Delivery Authority.

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) is also responsible for putting together the legacy benefits taken by all the business enterprise, cultural, environmental, educational and wider sporting proposal that will place all over the country as a result of the game before, during and after the London 2012.

2.2.3 The Mayor of London

Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, works with the Greater London Authority (GLA) Group ensuring that all Londoners get the most possible benefit from the 2012 Games. He is also responsible for ensuring. The Mayor of London is also a member of the Chairpersons of the Olympic Board, which manages the 2012 project. The mayor of London is also directing some few departments that works together to ensure that the London 2012 is a success and they are namely:

2.2.3.1 The London Development Agency

The Mayor’s London Development Agency (LDA) is responsible for the physical, social and economic legacy of the Olympic Park area. The Mayor’s London Development Agency is also responsible for skills and employment programmes, plan to boost common games participation as well as proposing London as a place to do big or small business.

The Mayor’s London Development Agency is working in partnership with local authorities, London 2012, local communities, public sector bodies and other organisations in the planning and delivery of new communities and the restoration that they can support.

2.2.3.2 Transport for London

The Transport for London is also under the Mayor of London’s direction, it is spending billions of pounds to bring a transport legacy for east London before 2012, to ensure that the east London area have a constant increase in transport investmen

2.2.3.3 The Olympic Park Regeneration Steering Group (OPRSG)

The Olympic Park Regeneration Steering Group (OPRSG) offers direction of the Olympic legacy agenda for east and south east London. Its main concern is to ensure the development and delivery of the Legacy Master plan Framework. The purpose of the framework is set out a clear vision for the upcoming progress of the Olympic Park and its immediate environment, which will commences as soon as the games are over.

2.2.4 The Olympic Board

The Olympic Board offers oversight, strategic coordination and monitoring of the entire 2012 Games project, making sure that the delivery of the pledge made to the IOC when the games was being awarded to London as well as a lasting legacy from the staging of the games.

2.2.5 Olympic Park Legacy Company

The Olympic Park Legacy Company is responsible for the long-term planning, development, management and maintenance of the Olympic Park and its facilities after the London 2012 Games. The Olympic Park Legacy Company plans to develop the park to a new and successful park of the London city.

2.2.6 The British Paralympic Association (BPA)

The British Paralympic Association (BPA) is responsible for sending off the best and finest prepared team to represent Great Britain at the winter and Summer Paralympic Games. At the Beijing Paralympic Games Paralympics GB had their most successful Games ever, winning 42 gold medals and finishing second on the medal table. The British Paralympic Association is also responsible for promoting the Paralympic Movement in the UK.

2.2.7: The five Host Boroughs

The five Host Boroughs which are namely Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest are also key partners in supporting and delivering the Games in east London. Apart from the core area of the Games there are many other local authorities, both in London and elsewhere in the United Kingdom that will play host to Games venues, training camps and cultural activities.

3 The London 2012 Sustainability Plan

London 2012 and the London 2012 stakeholders share a commitment to maximise sustainability, and the beneficial impact of the 2012 Games, across all these phases of the 2012 programme.

The opening of the Olympic Games in London on 27 July 2012 is drawing close, and many plans and ideas are still in development. Sustainability, particularly, is a fast developing discipline, with new methods and technologies constantly being created to lessen ecological impacts and make best use of the social and economic benefits.

The London 2012 Sustainability Plan covers the three main phases of the Games programme:

Training: 2012 Games training concentrates on the proposal and building of the Olympic Park along with other permanent site and infrastructure.

Event production: the lack of dependable data from other events makes it complicated to categorize targets and set new targets.

Building a lasting and sustainable legacy: The 2012 Games have to secure a motivated and long-term physical and social legacy for the Olympic Park area and around the UK. The amenities and the Olympic Park itself will be the platform for a detailed, in progress and environmentally responsible regeneration programme.

4. The Olympic Stadium Analysis

The Olympic Stadium design was endorsed as example of sustainable development, although a number of architecture reviewers have questioned both its aesthetic value and suitability as a national icon especially when compared to Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic stadium design was launched on 7 November 2007. The architect, Populous, is an architectural company which focus on the design of sports facilities and conference centre, as well as planning of major special events.

The Sydney’s Olympic bid used the Olympics to change its focus and brought about change, The Sydney’s Olympic also used the Olympics as a means of placing environmental permit to the public so as to think about sport and the change about to be implemented through delivering metropolitan regeneration. For many cities and countries, sport is now a means for making inward investment as well as reinforcing Brownfield sites; the strategy was used in Manchester and Melbourne (Commonwealth Games of 2002 and 2006 respectively), in Germany (2006 World Cup) and is currently being used by Glasgow in its bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

London won its bid on the back of three factors each of which factored in the concept of legacy;

1) London is known as one of the world’s most culturally and ethnically diverse populations

2) London is concerned about restoring one of the unprivileged areas of the city, which is in progress, by providing a legacy of amenities for local people

3) The benefactors of the Olympics are said to children, with the idea that different nations could link through sport. This point is said to be cause that made London’s bid stand out of the rest of the nation bids.

The costs of hosting the Olympics are considerable, and have huge impacts upon people, space and financial commitment. London’s bid – unlike that of Paris – was focused upon a complete re-brand and re-construction of a brownfield site along the Lea Valley in east London. A range of new facilities is to be built in the area, together with the use of existing stadia for football.

There is little doubt that the media will focus upon the impacts of the Olympics in terms of their costs. The same focus occurred in Sydney in the 5-6 years leading up to 2000, particularly in respect of costs arising from the remediation of polluted sites.

Economic Impacts

The government announced in January 2009 that more than 30,000 new jobs will be created between 2009 and 2012. Recent news coverage suggests the construction workforce for the Olympic site is expected to increase to around 6,000 by the end of 2009, despite the economic downturn which is affecting many other parts of the construction industry.

As with Sydney, projected costs have proved to be gross underestimates. It is fair to ask whether the figures can now balance. The UK Government estimated in mid-2007 that costs would reach ?10 billion, over four times the original estimate, but that these would be exceeded by the scale of benefits.

It is worth noting here that – Wembley Stadium apart – virtually every sports regeneration and construction project in the UK in recent years (e.g. Arsenal Emirates Stadium, Manchester Commonwealth Games) has been completed on time and to budget. The likely outcome is, therefore, that budgets will have been revised, but will be delivered, and that the deadlines are likely to be met with room to spare.

Environmental Impacts

Sydney branded itself as the world’s first ‘Green Olympics’. The plans for London have developed this concept further, with a focus upon environmental improvement, in some cases designed by the same design personnel responsible for Sydney. The central focus is Olympic Park, the first major park in London for over a century.

The total economic impact is the sum of direct, indirect, and induced impacts resulting from the Games. The direct impact can be attributed to purchases of Games organisers in the preparation and execution of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Indirect impacts are felt in the goods and service industries that supply the industries that receive expenditures by Games organisers. Induced impacts are generated from the spending by people employed indirectly or directly by Games expenditures

On a note of caution, none of the previous Olympics, not even Sydney, have significantly increased sports participation to a level or duration where this might conceivably lead to health benefits. It will need a high risk carefully thought through approach to succeed.

Managing Change

On a project of this scale and profile the team have had to be extremely flexible and adaptable to change. Requirements from the Olympic Delivery Authority side have remained consistent but as the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games

(LOCOG) began to ramp up their work, they made some changes to the project scope. As an example of this, it was agreed that the technology needed for the opening ceremony would be installed as part of the construction of the stadium rather than at the end. This additional work was not part of the original project scope, and so led to some delays while the works were catered for. However, the integrated approach of the team to challenges such as these has meant that the team were confident that these changes could be absorbed without affecting the overall programme.

There are many forums established to facilitate learning between projects across the park. Park wide health and safety forums are held regularly and cross park meetings are regularly held at every level from CLM project manager, to director, to environmental manager meetings.

A team from the project visited the Beijing Olympics so that any lessons from that project could be taken forward. In addition, the International Olympic Committee provided top tips from previous Olympic games

Constraints and challenges

There are limits on what can be achieved by London 2012. They do not lessen our ambition, but they need to be presented openly:– Some plans, for example for the treatment of waste during and after the 2012 Games, will depend on the provision of facilities and technologies that are not yet in place. Where this is the case, we can only signal our intention, and set out the developments that we will depend on to make this intention a reality.– The 2012 Games can act as a catalyst for new building technologies and new approaches to staging events, but the approaches used must be robust enough to cope with the largest event in the world and to take account of immovable deadlines, the priorities of sport and security, and contractual obligations to sponsors and rights holders.– The work being done to integrate sustainability into event planning and management is ground breaking. Although many other major events, including previous Games, have carried out ‘greening’ initiatives, there is very little reliable quantitative information on which to base strategies and targets. – Budgets must be respected: value for money does not mean lowering ambitions to achieve the lowest costs, but economic viability (and the added value that can be achieved through sustainable procurement) must be seen as an integral part of overall sustainability.– London 2012 can commit to the standards it will meet, but in other areas we can only influence, using the huge inspirational power of the Games to encourage others to change their behaviour, for example by encouraging international spectators to minimise the carbon impact of their travel to the UK. For specific cases, like a number of transport infrastructure projects, London 2012 is a part-funder but does not have complete control.

3. Wembley Overview

Wembley was designed by architects HOK Sport and Foster and Partners with engineers Mott MacDonald, built by Multiplex and funded by Sport England, WNSL (Wembley National Stadium Limited), the Football Association, the Department for Culture Media and Sport and the London Development Agency. It is the most expensive stadium ever built at a cost of ?798 million and has the largest roof-covered seating capacity in the world.

The all seater stadium is based around a bowl design with a capacity of 90,000, protected from the elements by a sliding roof that does not completely enclose it. It can also be adapted as an athletic stadium by erecting a temporary platform over the lowest tier of seating. The stadium’s signature feature is a circular section lattice arch of 7 m (23 ft) internal diameter with a 315 m (1,033 ft) p, erected some 22° off true, and rising to 140 m (459 ft) tall. It supports all the weight of the north roof and 60% of the weight of the retractable roof on the southern side. The archway is the world’s longest unsupported roof structure.

The initial plan for the reconstruction of Wembley was for demolition to begin before Christmas 2000, and for the new stadium to be completed sometime during 2003, but this work was delayed by a succession of financial and legal difficulties. It was scheduled to open on 13 May 2006, with the first game being that year’s FA Cup Final. However, worries were expressed as to whether the stadium would actually be completed on time. The new stadium was completed and handed over to the FA on 9 March 2007, with the total cost of the project (including local transport infrastructure redevelopment and the cost of financing) estimated to be ?1 billion.

The delays started from the very start. The procurement process to contractor followed a twin track approach. Multiplex, who ultimately won the contract, were given preferential treatment from the start.

The official Wembley Stadium website announced that the stadium would be open for public viewing for local residents of Brent on 3 March 2007, however the event was delayed by two weeks and instead happened on 17 March. The keys to the new Wembley stadium were finally handed over to the owners on 9 March 2007 ready to be open and used for upcoming FA Cup football matches, concerts and other events.

2.1 stakeholders

The Football Association

The FA was founded in 1863 as the governing body for football in England. The FA is responsible for all regulatory aspects of the game of football in England and is responsible for promoting the development of the game at every level.

The FA runs the England Teams, The FA Cup, The FA Community Shield, Women’s Football, The FA Youth Cup and a range of other competitions.

Every year the stadium hosts all home, senior England International games, The FA Cup final and semi-finals, The FA Community Shield and The FA Vase and Trophy Finals.

Wembley National Stadium Limited, the company that operates Wembley Stadium, is a fully owned subsidiary of The FA.

Department of Culture, Media and Sport

The sponsoring department for Sport England. The department is led by the Secretary of State, Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, who sits in the Cabinet. The Department is providing ?20million of funding towards the stadium project. This contribution will pay for non-stadium infrastructure improvements to the Wembley area.

Sport England

A Government agency, formerly The Sports Council. It leads the development of sport in England by influencing and serving the public, private and voluntary sectors. It is responsible for the administration of the sports section of the National Lottery in England. A ?120million Lottery Grant funded the purchase of the old Wembley Stadium.

The London Development Agency

The London Development Agency is the capitals economic development body, promoting economic renewal and development. It’s one of nine Regional Development Agencies.

Working for the Mayor – and in partnership with businesses and other organisations – it benefits all Londoners by delivering economic development and regeneration for the capital.

The LDA has contributed ?21million to the project

Controversy and events during construction

When the project first started, it was delayed for two years due to financial and political difficulties before eventually getting underway in late 2002. The stadium was supposed to be completed by May 2006 for the FA Cup Final, but this was transferred to Cardiff following consultation with Multiplex about when the stadium would be finished. Multiplex was unable to complete the stadium within the scheduled time and had to pay penalties. In December 2008, Multiplex sued the stadium designer Mott MacDonald for ?253m saying that it was denied access to key design information that led to increased steelwork costs.

A few construction problems were highlighted during the project. The first was a problem between Multiplex and the steel contractor Cleveland Bridge.

Cleveland Bridge walked off the job in 2004 shortly before the arch was raised because they did not believe they would be paid for materials and there were irrevocable difficulties between the two parties. The problems resulted in two high-profile court cases where the two companies sued each other for breach of contract (Multiplex sued for ?45m and Cleveland Bridge sued for ?22.5m to recover what it believed it was owed). In September 2008, Multiplex won the case and received ?6m from Cleveland.

The second problem involved a temporary roof support rafter, which fell by over half a metre in March 2006. This resulted in the evacuation of 3,000 construction workers and delayed worked while inspections and reports were carried out. The project began again shortly afterwards.

Later, in March 2006, a third problem came to light. The sewers under the stadium had buckled due to ground movement. Remedial work started later on. The stadium was scheduled to be completed by late summer 2006; however, it was completed in March 2007 moving the scheduled sport events to other stadium.

Analysis

It is easy to see the impact of failed project management in works such as Wembley stadium. It damaged the reputation which hampers the ability to gain further work. Customers were very dissatisfied as they were hoping that it`s construction will be completed on time. Cost was so over ruined that lead to huge loss of profit. This project damaged the relationship with sub-contractors and other business partners, financial penalties were paid to the workforce and there was a huge amount of low morale amongst the workforce. First we look at the Time, cost and The Legal battle over the Wembley stadium issue.

The first major problem concerning Wembley stadium was the time and cost issue. Wembley stadium was almost delayed for eight long years. Plans for a new national stadium have been dogged by delays, management problems and spiralling costs since Wembley was chosen in December 1996. The designs were unveiled in 1999.

This was due to several problems .when the project first started it was delayed for two yrs due to financial and political difficulties but got underway in 2002.This guide to Multiplex paying penalties for the late finishing of the contract although they have threatened to sue WNSL over changes in the design which they suggest the main reason responsible for the project being late. The first problem was between multiplex and the steel contractor Cleveland Bridge, Bridge walled away from the job in 2004 because they believe that they were not going to be paid for materials and there were irrevocable difficulties between two parties. On the other hand the temporary roof support which fell by over half a metre in march 2006 which resulted in the evacuation of 3000 construction workers and delayed work while inspections and reports were carried out .Later in march 2006 the problem of light came in context .The sewers under the stadium had buckled due to ground movement ,Remedial work was put into action for this and is currently nearing completion.It is also been claimed by multiplex that wrong type of concrete was used in the foundation

The financial pressures on Wembley could increase if the Olympic Stadium in Stratford is retained as an 80,000-capacity stadium following the games.

If the Olympic Stadium were to be retained as an 80,000-capacity venue, an idea that is again gaining ground, it could harm the future viability of both.

Wembley made a loss of ?23m in 2008 once depreciation, interest payments and tax were taken into account. Despite refinancing its loans, the operating company faces several years of onerous interest payments on the ?757m stadium.

The continuing strain that Wembley places on the FA’s accounts has become more significant in the wake of the collapse of Setanta’s ?150m broadcasting deal. The FA is hoping to conclude a replacement deal with the BBC for the remaining FA Cup rights but is likely to have to accept a significant drop in income.

Construction challenges

The construction presented a number of challenges. No stadium has ever been built this way, so architects and engineers had to use complex computer models to predict how the structure would behave if built in certain ways.

Given the special history of the previous Wembley Stadium, the designers had to pay particular attention to the atmosphere of the stadium, including the way it will sound with a full crowd cheering. Again, computers were used to simulate the acoustics of the new stadium before the design was agreed upon.

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Reference

^ “Work begins on 2012 Olympic field”. BBC News. 2010-05-23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8699319.stm.

^ “News: New era of stadium design begins with Olympic Stadium – London 2012”. http://www.london2012.com/news/media-releases/2007-11/new-era-of-stadium-design-begins-with-olympic-stadium.php. Retrieved 2008-08-05.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/nov/17/wembley-stadium-2012-olympic-games

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Investigating the 2012 Olympics Stadium and the Wembley Stadium. (2019, Apr 04). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/investigating-the-2012-olympics-stadium-and-the-wembley-stadium/

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