By Rick Horrow and Karla Swatek
November 9, 2012
London’s Olympic Stadium may not reopen until at least 2016, as the London Legacy Development Corporation continues weighing bids for the facility’s long-term future. Retrofitting the building for EPL soccer or possibly even a NFL team will require a substantial renovation.
While the Olympic Stadium will eventually have a permanent tenant, the process of finding one is taking a lot longer than anyone anticipated. It’s possible the legacy corporation doesn’t love any of the bids, or is hoping the NFL speeds up international expansion plans. In the meantime, the building’s post-Olympics life isn’t off to the best start.
In the U.S., however, the London Olympics legacy is a strong one. The U.S. Olympic Committee generated a record $115 million in retail sales through the London Games, easily topping its goal of $100 million. Sales were boosted by new licensing deals, which helped increase the USOC’s distribution from three major outlets during the 2010 Vancouver Games to eight for London.