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| Ricoh Arena | 03 Jun 2010 |
City of Coventry Stadium announced as the new London 2012 Football venue
The Ricoh Arena, the home of Coventry City Football Club has been selected as the new Midlands venue to host Olympic Football matches in 2012. This follows a selection procedure by the London 2012 Organising Committee (LOCOG) and means that all venues are now in place for the London Games.
The venue will be temporarily re-named the City of Coventry Stadium for the London 2012 Olympic Games and all other branding will be removed at Games time. The Stadium replaces Villa Park which was ruled out because of planned building development work.
Seb Coe, LOCOG Chair, said: ‘The City of Coventry Stadium is a great venue, and will be an excellent host for Football matches for the London 2012 Olympic Games. It is ideally located in the centre of England and the city already has strong links with London 2012. I congratulate Coventry and extend my thanks to all the Midlands clubs who applied to be a venue. All were a very good standard, and this shows the excellent standards of football stadia in this country.’
Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, said: ‘Sitting at the heart of the Midlands, the City of Coventry Stadium is ideally located for thousands of people to come and watch the London 2012 football competition and be inspired to get involved in sport.’
Daniel Gidney, Chief Executive of the Ricoh Arena, said: ‘We are looking forward enormously to staging Olympic football in Coventry. This is a great honour and we are proud to be involved with the Games. We have worked hard over the last few months to prepare our bid and I would like to thank all our partners and organisations involved for their support.’
David Moorcroft, Chair of the West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games said: “It is fantastic news that the City of Coventry Stadium will host the Football tournament taking place as part of London 2012. It is a real boost for the region and for Coventry as it will bring real economic benefit as the Olympic teams and their fans visit the city. Personally, as I am Coventry born and bred, I am delighted to see my home city identified as a venue and look forward to experiencing part of the 2012 Games as it takes place on my doorstep.’
Martin Reeves, Chief Executive of Coventry City Council, said: ‘2012 promises to be an outstanding year for the city. As well as the Olympic and Paralympic Games, we’ll be marking the 50th anniversary of the consecration of Coventry Cathedral, and there’s an important link between the city’s strong message of peace and reconciliation symbolised by the Cathedral, and the spirit of respect, fairness and sporting competition.’
Coventry has other strong links to London 2012, having been confirmed as a London 2012 Live Site venue, which will see a big screen installed at Coventry Transport Museum in the city centre.
Several businesses in the region have been awarded London 2012-related contracts.
There is also an exciting project underway in Coventry called ‘Godiva Awakes’ which is commissioned through Artists Taking the Lead, and forms part of London 2012’s Cultural Olympiad and is funded by Arts Council England. A 10 metre high Lady Godiva will be created, and she will awake from her sleeping chamber in July 2012 to a spectacular performance. Powered by 50 cyclists, Godiva will then journey to London to play a part in the all the celebrations.
Reaction from the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce:
Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is fantastic news for the Ricoh Arena and for Coventry and Warwickshire as a whole.“The Olympics is the largest sporting event in the world and to be hosting part of the event on our doorstep should act as a massive boost to the region.
“The economic benefits it will bring to Coventry and Warwickshire will be substantial but it will also act as a window for the city to showcase itself to the world.
“We have been urging businesses to prepare for London 2012 anyway but with this announcement, that becomes even more crucial.
“The Chamber is holding an event on the benefits the Olympics will bring to the region next Friday – I am sure this news will be on the agenda now!
“I would like to pass on my congratulations to everyone involved in securing this event for the Ricoh Arena and Coventry – it is something we should all look forward to.”
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