Sorry, folks, three days ago I said the National Sports Centre would open in mid-April and the first event would be a Tetrathon (a Pentathlon without horses).
News I received this morning is that the re-opening of the NSC will not now be until the end of May or early June.
The good news is that the Amateur Swimming Association visited the NSC very recently and are reported to be pleased with the upgraded facility and that their major swimming event in June will definitely be held at Crystal Palace.
The swimming pool is currently being filled and is about two thirds full. This is happening in measured fashion as it is being monitored to ensure there are no leaks. The diving pit is in the process of being refurbished so the elite divers will soon be back on site, too.
National Sports Centre
One of the reasons it has taken so long, is that the place is absolutely riddled with asbestos. Pretty much the whole of the heating and filtration systems have been replaced (think of a network of miles of 10" pipes) and chlorine has corroded anything remotely metal, which also needs replacing. The more the contractors removed during the works - the more they found needed replacing. Masses of intricate mosaic work and tiling needed replacing (they have had to recycle from elsewhere - given the expensive nature of the materials) and all the wooden panelling (which I think is teak) is worth hundreds of thousands of pounds, and needs to be treated sympathetically.
Believe it or not, as the works are being undertaken, kids stand on the banks of the park, and throw stones and bricks at the windows of the building, trying to break them. The windows are all custom made - some of them are huge and cost thousands.
Even when the building opens for limited access, there will still be masses of work to be undertaken.
Although the building is pretty ugly from the outside, anyone who has been inside will know it is a pretty amazing place, architecturally.
I have had to do a couple of tours of the building whilst the work is being undertaken (due to my job) and there is a lot of very hard and very complicated work going on in there.
At the end, we should have a building that we can all be proud of.
Believe it or not, as the works are being undertaken, kids stand on the banks of the park, and throw stones and bricks at the windows of the building, trying to break them. The windows are all custom made - some of them are huge and cost thousands.
Even when the building opens for limited access, there will still be masses of work to be undertaken.
Although the building is pretty ugly from the outside, anyone who has been inside will know it is a pretty amazing place, architecturally.
I have had to do a couple of tours of the building whilst the work is being undertaken (due to my job) and there is a lot of very hard and very complicated work going on in there.
At the end, we should have a building that we can all be proud of.
But as I understand it, the LDA's plans are to fill in the pool as part of the CP redevelopment, and build a brand new facility next to the Stadium.
Which begs the question - why are they spending SO much time and effort on a rebuild with a life expectancy of what...five or six years?
Unless they've changed the plans to build a new pool, in which case they could make the effort to let the locals know what's going on.
Which begs the question - why are they spending SO much time and effort on a rebuild with a life expectancy of what...five or six years?
Unless they've changed the plans to build a new pool, in which case they could make the effort to let the locals know what's going on.
One of the most amazing things about the whole job, is that the length of the pool needed to be extended, by a matter of approx 80mm.
The reason? So it can be used as an official Olympic training pool.
Although the pool is 50m in length, it did not have the space and length for the sophisticated timing equipment, which is needed nowadays.
So how do you make a pool 80mm longer? You drain it, remove the tiles and the various membranes, and you literally chip 80mm off the end, and then put it all back together again.
The diving pool area (of which the diving platforms are 'listed') also leaked like a sieve, and also needed draining and re-sealing.
Finally - and I don't mean to sound like some sort of spokesperson for the pool - the changing rooms are absolutely fantastic, state-of-the-art design. I also spent a great deal of time at Wembley Stadium when that was being built, and the spec of the pool changing rooms are better than Wembley.
Dick, I don't know about plans to level it after a few years, but I cant see that happening - after all the time and money spent on it over the past 18 months
The reason? So it can be used as an official Olympic training pool.
Although the pool is 50m in length, it did not have the space and length for the sophisticated timing equipment, which is needed nowadays.
So how do you make a pool 80mm longer? You drain it, remove the tiles and the various membranes, and you literally chip 80mm off the end, and then put it all back together again.
The diving pool area (of which the diving platforms are 'listed') also leaked like a sieve, and also needed draining and re-sealing.
Finally - and I don't mean to sound like some sort of spokesperson for the pool - the changing rooms are absolutely fantastic, state-of-the-art design. I also spent a great deal of time at Wembley Stadium when that was being built, and the spec of the pool changing rooms are better than Wembley.
Dick, I don't know about plans to level it after a few years, but I cant see that happening - after all the time and money spent on it over the past 18 months
OK, can anyone come up with a definative answer as to whether or not the LDA plan to retain the refurbished 50m pool (and training pool in the annex) post park-improvements?
Ever since the LDA failed to get the building de-listed, it have always been fairly emphatic that the pool cannot stay in the NSC long-term, because of the humidity problems the pool causes on the other side of the building.
If so, would they mind telling the operator (GLL, whose website STILL says the pool will reopen in April), the staff (who seem to know nothing about what's going on), or the punters who actually used the facility.
Ta muchly.
Ever since the LDA failed to get the building de-listed, it have always been fairly emphatic that the pool cannot stay in the NSC long-term, because of the humidity problems the pool causes on the other side of the building.
If so, would they mind telling the operator (GLL, whose website STILL says the pool will reopen in April), the staff (who seem to know nothing about what's going on), or the punters who actually used the facility.
Ta muchly.