Sarah McGuigan, Senior Executive Director, AEG Europe, outlined on Wednesday AEG’s strong commitment to help create a viable and sustainable legacy in London’s Olympic Park through its joint bid with Tottenham Hotspur for the Olympic Stadium site.
As part of its submission with Tottenham Hotspur, AEG would manage and market a host of stadium and public realm events that, with football, would attract three million visitors to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park every year.
McGuigan said: "Alongside Tottenham Hotspur, we have some exciting and innovative plans for the stadium and surrounding area that would ensure an amazing visitor experience all year round. Crucially, our plans will stand the test of time and require no public subsidy.
"Just take a look at The O2, along with our other venues across the world, and you get a sense of the variety and scale of what we are proposing, from international sports, music and X-Games to Expos, theatre and heritage festivals. We would bring this excitement to the Olympic Park and help ensure it becomes a vibrant and sustainable place to live and visit, not just for a year or two, but for the long-term.
"For us, the customer experience is of paramount importance. Looking at The O2 and our other leading venues worldwide, they are characterised by a first class guest experience with focus on sight lines, customer service and proximity to the act. We chose to work with Tottenham Hotspur as we believe that, as a partnership, we can have a stadium tailored to reflect its customer’s needs that will be filled week in week out. We know the importance of getting this decision right has huge implications not just for the stadium site, but for the long term success and viability of the Olympic park as a whole.
"In addition to the development of the stadium site itself, AEG will work with Tottenham Hotspur to explore a series of further mixed use developments including a major tourist attraction linked to hotels, retail and some residential housing. The employment opportunities and other benefits that these additional developments offer for the local community are significant.
"All in all, the plans we have are very exciting and together with Tottenham Hotspur, we know we can deliver something very special, as well as being commercially viable, that the whole country can be immensely proud."
