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iCITY confirms Olympic legacy deal

May 16, 2013

By Colin Mann

iCITY – the preferred bidder for the legacy uses of the Press and Broadcast Centres on London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – has signed its deal with the London Legacy Development Corporation for the long-term future of the Centres. This agreement takes total investment on the Press and Broadcast Centres to over £1 billion. This includes investment from:

  • London 2012 construction costs: £297 million
  • iCITY transformation costs: over £100 million
  • Infinity clients: c. £500 million
  • Secured tenants: £270 million

iCITY will help to regenerate east London by establishing a leading creative and digital hub. It will create over 4,500 jobs on site, with an expected additional 2,000 jobs in the local area. iCITY has made a commitment to work with its tenants to provide employment and training opportunities for the local community, and to ensure local companies benefit from the supply chain opportunities.
Making a significant contribution to stimulating long-term economic growth, iCITY will add over £450million in GDP to the national economy through job creation. This will include an estimated £340million contribution to the local economy.

iCITY will design a world-leading hub for the creative and digital industries, promoting collaboration and innovation between academic institutions, start-up businesses and established global companies.

Gavin Poole, CEO of iCITY, said the billion pound investment provided significant jobs, training and education opportunities and was central to the ongoing regeneration of East London. “iCITY is at the heart of the economic and social legacy from London 2012. It will provide much needed infrastructure, commercial space and capacity for the digital and creative industries, the UK’s fastest growing sectors of the economy, as well as much needed studio space in London. These buildings present an incredible opportunity to the creative and media sector enjoying unrivalled connectivity and power,” he declared.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said that London had well and truly delivered on what is a hugely important part of the Olympic legacy story. “iCITY is the final jewel in the crown of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and as a world class digital hub that will employ thousands of people I’m delighted to welcome them on board,” he said.

Jamie Hindhaugh, COO, BT Sport said the broadcaster was delighted that the LLDC and iCity had signed the lease and looked forward to working with iCity to continue building on the Olympic legacy for the community and developing its new home together. “We are committed to working with the local community to create jobs, explore sporting links with local schools as well as looking at how we can offer our production facilities to other companies,” he added.

Belle Media Managing Director Kay Hutchison, who as Chair, Broadcast Centre Legacy Group, was a driving force behind the media business partnership looking at the post-Games use of the 2012 International Broadcast Centre and instrumental in shaping the vision for the site throughout the build-up to the Games, said: “It’s great to see the economic vision of the Broadcast Centre Legacy Group developed in 2008 for the IBC/MPC has defied both the cynics and the recession, and is being delivered just as we forecast with live studio production very much at its core. We wish iCity and BT Sport the best of success in developing this key legacy site.”

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