Olympic Newsdesk - Jowell Confirms London Stadium Legacy Plan; Another World Record for Phelps

Olympics minister Tessa Jowell confirms that the London Olympic Stadium will be downsized after 2012. (Getty Images)Olympics Minister Confirms 2012 Stadium Legacy Plan

(ATR) The showpiece stadium for the London 2012 Games will be downsized from 80,000 seats to 25,000 in legacy mode, Olympics minister Tessa Jowell confirms.

Speaking to reporters at the Beyond Sport conference in London Thursday, she dismissed suggestions the stadium is to be maintained in its Games-time configuration, claiming another large venue in the capital would not be financially viable.

"We don't need another football stadium, we have got Wembley," she said. "Funding the maintenance of a stadium between 2012 and 2018 is quite a stretch, so I think we will continue to develop the plan that we have for the Olympic Stadium."

Last week, London Mayor Boris Johnson said it would be “very foolish” to rule out retaining at least a 50,000-capacity stadium as venue plans for England’s bid to stage the FIFA 2018 World Cup take shape.

An Olympic legacy panel headed by Margaret Ford was said to be considering the idea as part of wider legacy proposals for the Olympic Park in east London. Johnson wants the park to become the hub of a series of international sporting events after the 2012 Games.

But Jowell insisted 2012 organizers would not budge from the bid book pledge of providing a 25,000-seater athletics stadium in legacy. Populous, the architects, designed the venue with 55,000 temporary seats so that it can be easily downsized after the Games.

Keith Mills, deputy chairman of London 2012 and a non-executive director of the England 2018 World Cup bid, pointed to the lessons of the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

“Go to Sydney and look at the 90,000-seat stadium that sits there empty, it's gone bust three times," he told reporters, adding that London had enough large stadia to accommodate football and rugby.

“We're not short of stadiums, but we are short of an athletics stadium and an athletics stadium doesn't have to be 80,000 seats,” he said.

Phelps Sets New World Record in 100 Butterfly

Michael Phelps is the new world record holder in the 100-meter butterfly. (Getty Images) Michael Phelps added another world record to his already impressive collection after setting a new mark in the 100-meter butterfly at the ConocoPhillips USA Swimming national championships in Indianapolis on Thursday.

Phelps recorded a time of 50.22, surpassing the old mark of 50.40 set by Australian Ian Crocker in 2005.

“I was pretty happy with my swim,” Phelps was quoted as saying after the race. “I really wanted to break 50 (seconds), but that is something to shoot for. Ian Crocker texted me after prelims. He wished me all the luck. That really meant a lot to me as a competitor and as a friend.”

Briefs…

IOC member Gunilla Lindberg gives a thumbs up to the inaugural Asian Games in Singapore. (ATR/Panasonic:Lumix) …IOC member Gunilla Lindberg was pleased with how the recently concludedinaugural Asian Games in Singapore turned out. Lindberg was speaking to ATR after returning from a trip to Singapore where she spent some time with organizers of the Asian Youth Games. "It was a good test event for them and proves that they have a good organization and are prepared for the [Youth Olympic] Games next year," she said.

…The showdown between double world champion Tyson Gay of the U.S. and former world record Asafa Powell of Jamaica in the men’s 100-meter dash will be the feature event at the IAAF Golden Gala meet in Rome on Friday.

Written by Mark Bisson and Greg Oshust.