The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) has opened the bid process for the Aquatics Centre and the multi-use arena, which is due to stage handball during the Olympics, with companies having eight weeks to March 23 to lodge a formal expression of interest. 

The successful companies will be given a 10-year contract, with the appointment to be made by January 2012.

This is so they can work with the building's Games-time operations and manage their post-Games fit-out.

Andrew Altman, the chief executive of the OPLC, described both venues as "core" assets of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

"They will be real community assets and we are looking for the right operators who can bring people together and improve health, education and lifelong participation in sport," he said.

The contracts to maintain the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park were also put up for grabs.

This is to cover work including park maintenance, horticultural, waste management and security.

It is the latest stage of the OPLC's plans for the Olympic Park after 2012.

It has already put the £100 million ($159 million) ArcelorMittal Orbit attraction out to tender, while West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur are involved in a controversial battle to occupy the Olympic Stadium.

Up to 800,000 people a year are expected to visit the £300 million ($476 million) Aquatics Centre, which will have two 50 metres pools and a diving pool, according to the OPLC.

It will also have permanent seating for 2,500 people which can be extended to 3,500.



The arena, set to be the third largest in London, will have 7,500 seats, some of which can be moved to extend the field of play.

It can be used for sports, entertainment, cultural, community and business events.

There is also the potential for a health and fitness centre.

The arena, featuring over 3,000 sq m of external copper cladding, is expected to reopen in 2013.

The Zaha Hadid-designed Aquatics Centre, featuring a wave-shaped roof and pools fitted with moveable floors, is expected to reopen in January 2014.

The OPLC stressed that the venue operators will be expected to promote sports development with the national governing bodies of sport, educational establishments and local Boroughs.

"They will be real community assets and we are looking for the right operators who can bring people together and improve health, education and lifelong participation in sport," said Altman.

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