Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is located in the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and is owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. The £30 million Centre was opened in June 2014.^[1] It is made up of two outdoor hockey pitches and four indoor and six outdoor tennis courts. It was designed by architects Stanton Williams.^[2]

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is located on a part of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park known as Eton Manor^[3] which during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games staged the Paralympic Wheelchair Tennis Competition. The primary hockey pitch has a capacity of 3,000 which can be increased to 15,000 for major events.

Major events

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre will stage a number of major international events. These include the European Hockey Championships in 2015, the Women’s Champions Event in 2016, the Men’s World League Round 3 in 2017 and the Hockey Women’s World Cup in 2018.^[4]

It has already staged the Wheelchair Tennis Masters competition in November 2014, comprising the world’s leading tennis players, with two more editions taking place in 2015 and 2016. In June 2014, the Investec Hockey Cup, an international invitation event involving four men and four women’s teams, took place at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre.

London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

During the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Eton Manor, the site on which Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre stands, was the only purpose-built Paralympic venue. The venue was made up of nine competition courts and four warm-up courts.^[5]

There were a total of 10,500 seats for spectators, with a 5,000 capacity centre court. The 27 acre site also housed temporary training pools for participants in aquatics events, including three 50m pools for swimmers and smaller pools for synchronised swimmers and water polo competitors.^[6]

Eton Manor poem

Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy was commissioned to write a poem which has been installed at Eton Manor, to celebrate its history and the legacy it will leave for the community after the Games.

The poem is erected onto a brass plaque at the entrance to the venue and was part of the Winning Words initiative, a national poetry scheme inspired by London 2012 which integrated permanent and temporary poetry on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.^[7]

References

Coordinates: 51°33′11″N 0°00′54″W / 51.55305°N 0.01513°W / 51.55305; -0.01513