NYTIMES/REUTERS:
The 2012 London Olympics faced fresh financial concerns on Tuesday after reports that a slump in land prices could leave a one billion pounds "black hole" in the budget.
A report in The Times said Olympic Minister Tessa Jowell's prediction that at least 1.8 billion pounds ($3.52 billion) would be raised in land sales after the Games was vastly over-estimated.
The sale of land on the Olympic Park in east London was factored in to repay the National Lottery for money lent to the Games and the London Development Agency (LDA), who acquired the sites that will host the main venues.
The LDA now expected to raise only 800 million pounds from the sale of land after estimates of land price inflation were scaled back in the light of a slowdown in London property prices, according to The Times.
... In March last year, Jowell confirmed the budget for building the Games venues and infrastructure had more than doubled to 9.3 billion pounds and asked for another 700 million pounds of National Lottery Funding.
The total amount of funding to be provided from the National Lottery is 2.175 billion, half of which will be diverted away from other causes, leading to criticism from Arts organizations who rely on Lottery funding.
Opposition MPs were expected to oppose the extra Lottery funding at a House of Commons debate on the Olympic budget later on Tuesday.
"It was bad enough when we heard the Lottery was taking a hit of more than a billion, but if it turns out there is no chance of getting any of this money back it would be a disaster," David Barrie, the director of The Art Fund, told The Times.
- MITT SAVED THE USA'S WINTER OLYMPICS IN 2002; HE COULD SAVE LONDON'S.
- IS THERE ANOTHER CANDIDATE FOR POTUS WHO HAS WHAT IT TAKE TO DO THE SAME?
- I DON'T THINK SO. MAYBE RUDY. THAT'S IT. THINK ABOUT IT.
- AND IF THEY CAN'T RUN AN OLYMPICS WELL, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK THEY COULD RUN THE USG!?
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