London Update -- Mayor Courts Supermarket Chief; Clegg Quits BOA

Johnson Taps King as Olympic Adviser

London Mayor Boris Johnson approached Justin King, the chief executive of the U.K.'s third-ranking chain of supermarkets, to be his Olympic adviser.

King, 47, is widely admired in the city for transforming the fortunes of Sainsbury's in the past five years.

The company's marketing in that time has included endorsements by a number of sports stars, while Sainsbury's has also taken on the sponsorship of the annual English Schools' athletics championships, one of the largest track and field events in the world. The chain’s "active kids" campaign has provided millions of pounds-worth of sports equipment to schools.

Johnson approached King following the departure of Carphone Warehouse boss David Ross, who resigned all his Olympic positions after it was revealed he mortgaged his entire $380 million portfolio of shares in four companies, in breach of city rules.

King has already notified the retailer's board he is considering the offer.

The role is unpaid, and involves one meeting a month with Johnson, but the adviser will be the Mayor's official representative on London's governing Olympic Board. Johnson believes that a leading figure from business will help to drive his agenda for value-for-money from the 2012 Games.Clegg Moves on from BOA

Simon Clegg tells Around the Rings changes in the management of the British Olympic Association make the timing right for him to leave after 20 years at the NOC.

"It’s a good opportunity for me to go out," Clegg said Monday, the day his immediate departure from the BOA was announced.

Clegg stepped down as chief executive earlier this year to make way for Andy Hunt, who has taken over that job. Clegg, who had served as chef de mission for six summer and winter Olympics, was supposed to reprise that role for the London Games.

In Beijing, Team GB won 47 medals, including 19 gold, finishing fourth place in the medal table - a best-ever finish for Britain. Despite that success, Clegg says he realized since then that it was time to take "a well-earned break."

"I'm excited to be moving on," he said.

What he will do next is still to be determined.

"I will be looking at how to use my expertise for sport and business," he said, seeming to rule out an Olympic assignment.

Clegg came to the BOA after a career in the army and as team manager for the British biathlon team.

Along with the improvements to the performance of Team GB at the Olympics, Clegg cites his involvement with the bid for the London Olympics as a pinnacle of his BOA work. He notes with some pride that his signature is one of those at the bottom of the host city contract with the IOC for the 2012 Games.

Taxpayers to Finance Media Center

John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, has admitted that 2012's $420 million Main Press Centre will be paid for entirely out of public funds from the $2.8 billion contingency.

"It was always going to be public/private but it may now have to be 100 percent public," Armitt said.

The admission comes as the credit crunch has made it impossible to find another private investor for the 1.5 million-square-foot media facilities at Hackney Wick. Barclays Bank and Igloo, the regeneration finance company, pulled out of the deal two months ago, despite the costs of the project having been slashed by 25 percent.

Government ministers have already approved the use of $140 million from the contingency fund to finance the first phases of building the Olympic Village after the private finance deal for that project also collapsed.

But Armitt is optimistic that Lend Lease, the Australian developers, will find a private funding partner for the Olympic Village in 2009. The amount of money needed to be raised has been reduced following two housing associations agreeing to buy 30 percent of the 2,700 apartments after the Olympics and Paralympics.

Armitt also sought to end rumors that the media center will be temporary or use a new shopping mall near the Olympic Park.

"Temporary facilities always end up costing more than you think," he said. "This is the one building within the Olympic complex which has the potential to provide jobs.

"You would not want to spend 8 billion pounds just staging an Olympic Games. What we're doing is creating a regeneration opportunity which only hosting the Games could have delivered."

Woolwich Venue Decision Delayed Again

London's Olympic Board, meeting last week, again deferred a decision on the 2012 shooting venue. It led to renewed speculation that the former Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich will be dropped from the Games venues as impractical and too expensive.

The Board agreed to publish the heavily redacted report from accountancy consultants KPMG, which sets out the various options considered for all London's temporary venues.

Last month, LOCOG announced it had accepted KPMG's recommendations not to move equestrian events from Greenwich, but to save money by using Wembley for gymnastics and badminton.

Britain's shooting organizations want the $60 million that would be spent on Woolwich's temporary facilities to be used on upgrading the permanent ranges at Bisley, more than 40 miles from the Olympic Village. KPMG also considered a third option of an alternative venue to the east of Stratford.

Bisley staged Olympic shooting events in 1908 and 1948. The national shooting center was dropped from London’s 2012 bid after criticism that the proposals were not sufficiently "compact."

KPMG is recommending "further work be done to evaluate the new Bisley proposals." These include accommodating athletes in nearby university accommodation and a modernization of the existing facility.

The IOC has given London until the end of March to finalize its venue plans. The International Shooting Sport Federation is known to favor Woolwich because of its proximity to the Olympic Park.

...Briefs

... London 2012 chairman Sebastian Coe flew to Dublin last week for keyhole surgery on a knee injury caused by a lifetime of wear and tear, who despite his busy schedule still manages to run up to 30 miles each week.

... Sarah Ayton, Sarah Webb and Pippa Wilson, Britain's winning Yngling sailing team in Beijing, have confirmed that they will continue to race separately through to 2012, following the International Sailing Federation's decision to drop their class from the Olympic program.

... U.K. Athletics today named Canadian Kevin Tyler as the new strategic head of coaching and development, to work under head coach Charles van Commenee when he takes up his post in February. Last week another Canadian, Peter Eriksson, was named as UKA's head Paralympic coach.

Written by Steven Downes and Ed Hula.