The Riverbank Arena was a stadium in the Olympic Park, in Hackney Wick, London, United Kingdom, containing a water-based astroturf.
 Riverbank Arena during the 2012 Summer Olympics | |
 | |
| Location | Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Hackney Wick, E9 United Kingdom |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 51°32′58″N 0°1′14″W / 51.54944°N 0.02056°W |
| Capacity | 15,000 (5,000 post-Olympics) |
| Field size | 100 by 64 metres (328 by 210 feet) |
| Opened | June 2012 |
History
editThe Riverbank Arena was built with two venues for field-hockey competition at the 2012 Summer Olympics with capacities of 15,000 and 5,000, respectively, and venues for the football 7-a-side and football 5-a-side competitions at the 2012 Summer Paralympics.
The budget for the stadium was £19 million. Plans were made to scale down the venue after the Olympics, converting it into a 5,000-seat arena and a training pitch in Eton Manor, a sport and leisure venue in Leyton, Waltham Forest.[clarification needed] In January 2011, Leyton Orient F.C. expressed an interest in moving into the stadium after the games.[1]
In May 2012, it opened with a test event, a men's and women's invitational hockey tournament.[2]
Riverbank Arena was dismantled following the conclusion of the 2012 Games. The Eton Manor venue on the Olympic Park, now known as the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, hosted the 2015 EuroHockey Nations Championships.[3] The facility reopened in June 2014 and is the current ground of Wapping Hockey Club.[4]
References
edit- ^ Staff (25 January 2011). "Leyton Orient 'Open to Olympic Hockey Venue Switch'". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ Kelso, Paul (3 May 2012). "London 2012 Olympics: All Systems Go as Test Events Put the Spotlight on Viability of the Games Venues – More Than 175,000 People Are Expected To Pass Through Various Olympic Venues over the Next Four Days, Giving Organisers the Chance To Ensure That All Will Be Well at the Big Event.". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ Mackay, Duncan (21 March 2012). "England To Host 2015 European Hockey Championships at Olympic Park". Inside the Games. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
- ^ BBC Television (19 June 2014) "Lee Valley: Latest Olympic Legacy Venue Opens in Stratford BBC London News. Retrieved 25 August 2014.
External links
edit
Media related to Riverbank Arena at Wikimedia Commons- London 2012 Olympics profile
