Built 2011–2012 Capacity 5,000 | Tenants 2012 Summer Olympics Opened 2012 | |
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City Olympic Park; London; United Kingdom Similar Queen Elizabeth Olympic, Basketball Arena, Riverbank Arena, Royal Artillery Barracks, The Copper Box | ||
The Water Polo Arena was a venue of the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012. It is situated in the south-east corner of the Olympic Park, alongside the Aquatics Centre, and opposite the Olympic Stadium on the opposite bank of the Waterworks River.
Construction on the temporary structure began in spring 2011. During the Olympics, the 5,000-seat arena hosted both the men's and women's water-polo competitions, and contained both a warm-up pool and a 37-metre (121-foot) competition pool.
The Aquatics Centre and Water Polo Arena are adjacent to each other in one of the most compact areas of the park. To make the best use of the space available, some back-of-house facilities, such as space for broadcasters, catering and security were shared between the two venues.
The first dedicated water-polo venue to be built for an Olympics, the structure will be taken down after the games. Elements of the venue are expected to be reused or relocated elsewhere. Parts of the roofing covers and membranes of different temporary venues of the building will be recycled via Vinyloop. This allows to meet the standards of the Olympic Delivery Authority, concerning environmental protection. Through this recycling process, the Olympic Games PVC Policy is fulfilled. It says that
Where London 2012 procures PVC for temporary usage or where permanent usage is not assured, London 2012 is required to ensure that there is a take-back scheme that offers a closed loop reuse system or mechanical recycling system for post-consumer waste.London 2012 are the first Olympic Games whose guidelines include the recycling of PVC.