David Poultney / London 2012
The grass may look lush now, but next summer, athletes from around the world will gladly tear it up in pursuit of gold and glory.
After nearly three years of construction, the finishing touches were laid Tuesday on the Olympic Stadium in northeast London. Built at a cost of £486 million ($777 million), the venue will play home to track and field events – javelin, the 100-meter dash, and the likes. But those events will likely pale in the face of London’s opening ceremony, when all 80,000 seats in the Olympic Stadium are sure to be filled.
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A total of 360 rolls of turf, homegrown in the central England town of Scunthorpe, were used to cover the field in completing the hard construction. But the frills are still to come, including splaying the Olympic logo around the venue, furnishing the rooms, and of course, laying the track that will hopefully meet with speedy runners and shattered records next July.
And in the spirit of Olympic generosity, the stadium will not become a dinosaur post-Games. Premier League football team (that’s soccer for you Yanks) West Ham United will take over the arena. Though even a spanking new pitch wouldn’t lift the Hammers from the bottom of the standings.
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