By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Write of the Year
June 3 – Ricoh Arena, the home of Coventry City Football Club has been selected as the new Midlands venue to host Olympic football matches in 2012, it was announced today.
This follows a selection procedure by London 2012 following the decision last August of Aston Villa to drop out because they could not guarantee building work could be completed in time.
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.
Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, saidL “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.”
The £56 million ($82 million) Ricoh Arena, which has a capacity of 32,609, was opened in 2007 by Dame Kelly Holmes and then Sports Minister Richard Caborn.
Jonathan Edwards (pictured), the 2000 Olympic triple jump champion who is now a member of the London 2012 Board, announced the decision at a press conference in Coventry today.
Daniel Gidney, the chief executive of 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.”
Coventry was chosen ahead of Birmingham City’s St Andrews, Derby County’s Pride Park and Leicester City’s Walkers Stadium.
David Moorcroft, the former world 5,000 metres record holder who is now the chairman 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, the 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 inmportant link between the city’s strong message of peace and reconciliation symbolised by the Cathedral, and the spirit of respect, fairness and sporting competition.”
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