London is hosting the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and with that came newly built sporting facilities. Today, Olympic Park Legacy Company confirmed the future use of some venues, awarding social enterprise Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) use of the Aquatics Centre and the Multi-Use Arena for the next decade starting in 2013. Also announced is Balfour Beatty WorkPlace will manage the maintenance of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The contracts according the Legacy Company website include:
1) 254 full time jobs
2) 86 apprenticeship places every year
3) That on average, 75% of jobs from the two contracts will go to local people in the Host Boroughs
4) A strong focus on small and medium sized enterprises benefitting from supply chain opportunities
5) The price of swimming at the Aquatics Centre or hiring a court at the Arena will be the same as the average local pool or sports centre
GLL operates leisure and fitness facilities at affordable prices for the community. They strive for community involvement, healthy living, and other social and environmental impacts through sporting programs. Any surpluses GLL generates go back to the customers, employees, and communities. The Aquatics Centre has two 50 metre swimming pools and a 25 metre diving pool, while the Multi-Use Arena can be used for badminton, basketball, wheelchair basketball, boxing, gymnastics, judo, concerts, conferences, and shows.
The winning bid for GLL means a defeat for private sector bidders Serco and Parkwood Leisure. The outcome is the difference between profits going towards shareholders versus money reinvested into the community.
