Olympic stadium 'must have roof'

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The government has been urged to ensure that the design for the 2012 Olympic Stadium includes a proper roof.

Peers called for reassurances on the design for the stadium - a decision on which is due in the next three months.

Conservative peer Lord Naseby said one design had no roof meaning spectators would be "soaked to the skin".

For the government, Lord Davies said cost and the post-Games use of the stadium would have a bearing on what design was chosen.

Lord Naseby said the first proposal from architects HOK Sport, which is part of the Team McAlpine consortium developing designs, had "no roof at all".

He asked for reassurances that the majority of seats would be covered.

Hierarchy

"Those who manage to go to see the Games don't really want to be soaked to the skin," he told the House of Lords.

Tory peer Baroness Carnegy asked: "Is the minister aware that very high in the list of [American psychologist Abraham] Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, is to have a roof over your head?"

It is not intended to be a sports stadium modelled on anything like the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, but a sports stadium for much more local use Lord Davies

Lord Davies pointed out that sports spectators are only there for a limited period, and fans have in the past "have suffered very considerable privations for their sport".

He also dismissed criticism that the Cardiff Millennium Stadium was able to be used frequently, because it had an enclosed roof.

He said the intention was that the Olympic stadium, after the Games, would be reduced to a 25,000-seater athletics venue.

"It is not intended to be a sports stadium modelled on anything like the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, but a sports stadium for much more local use and a feature of the neighbourhood."

"That is bound to mean that the concept of costs and what the long term legacy would be is somewhat different from the outstanding sports stadiums in this country."

He said the original HOK Sport design had "a roof for part of the stadium".

West Ham Football Club's request to move to the stadium, which will house up to 80,000 spectators during the Olympic fortnight, has been formally rejected.