Preparatory work has got underway on a new 12,000-seat arena at the Olympic Park in London, which will host the basketball preliminary and quarter-final rounds at the 2012 Games.

Investigations will be carried out for the foundations of the temporary facility before Glasgow-based contractor Barr Construction starts work on the building's main structure in the spring. In addition to the basketball events, the venue will also stage the semi-finals and finals of the handball competition, as well as the Paralympic wheelchair basketball and wheelchair rugby events. The capacity of the arena will be reduced to 10,000 for the Paralympic events.

Olympic Delivery Authority chair John Armitt said: "The Basketball Arena is an important venue for London 2012, as it will host four Olympic and Paralympic sports and will house the athletes before they make their way down to the Stadium for the opening and closing ceremonies." Image: ODA