Unsolved venues remain concern ahead of 2012 inspection visit

By James Toney, Sportsbeat

DENIS Oswald and his team of Olympic inspectors arrive back in London tomorrow with several pressing issues on their packed agenda.

INSPECTOR CALLS: London 2012 chairman Lord Coe listens as IOC member Denis Oswald talks during his last inspection visit (Getty Images)

Oswald has already expressed concern that London 2012 organisers have yet to finalise their venues.

While they have agreed in principle to move badminton and rhythmic gymnastics from a temporary venue in Greenwich to Wembley Arena - saving around £20 million - the move has not been rubber-stamped.

The Badminton World Federation - of which Craig Reedie, the London 2012 board member and British member the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board is an influential former president - will discuss the matter later this week.

But the final sign-off is the responsibility of Oswald and his team, and their concerns about travel times from the Olympic Village to north London remain.

In addition, Oswald will be seeking answers about venues for football competitions, following Aston Villa's decision to withdraw Villa Park from consideration.

A number of alternative grounds in the Midlands are being considered to join Wembley, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, Glasgow's Hampden Park, Manchester's Old Trafford and Newcastle's St James' Park.

IOC rules state venues must have a minimum all-seater capacity of 30,000 and meet the required standards for hospitality.

Derby's Pride Park, Coventry's Ricoh Arena, Leicester's Walkers Stadium and Nottingham Forest's City Ground have all been put forward for consideration.

Oswald will also seek an urgent update on London's ticketing strategy.

He was critical of the empty seats that caused Chinese officials embarrassment during last year's Beijing Games and is keen to see Locog officials explore the secondary ticketing market for the first time in Olympic history.

Earlier this month, London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton insisted that tickets would be affordable and admitted a £400 million target from their sale.

Oswald's team will seek clarification on costs following yesterday's quarterly Government report, released by Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell.

And he will be keen to discuss the ongoing debate over the legacy of the Olympic Stadium.

The future of London's £500 million, 80,000-seater Olympic Stadium is already the subject of fierce debate.

The original legacy plan involved its conversion into a more manageable 30,000 capacity track and field stadium.

However, both Mayor of London Boris Johnson and Conservative Shadow Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson have made no secret they would like other options explored, while the stadium is also expected to be part of the Football Association's 2018 World Cup bid.