Sports	Handball Goalball Modern Pentathlon
Capacity	6,500
Post Olympics	Multisport arena for sport, culture and business
Architect / Builders	MAKE / Buckingham Group
Time to build	20 months
Cost	£43 million ($70 million)

The capacity of the Copper Box will be increased to 7,500 in legacy and is set to become a multi-purpose venue available for both sport and business usage.

The lower tier of seating in the venue is retractable, giving it added flexibility.

Costing £43 million to construct, it was designed by the MAKE architect company founded by the man who worked on London's iconic Gherkin building.

It is situated adjacent to the west of the Olympic Park, which has been developed on a site previously made up of old canals, which have been revitalised for the Olympic Games.

The Copper Box will play host to handball and modern pentathlon, as well as goalball during the Paralympic Games.

It will be holding the preliminary rounds and quarter finals of the Handball competition, before the competition moves onto the Basketball Arena for the semi finals and final.


As with the other Olympic Park venues, sustainability was in mind when designing the arena, and rainwater will be collected from its roof to flush toilets and reduce water usage by 40%.

Its glazed concourse level means that visitors to the Park can view the events taking place inside as well as illuminating the venue at night.

The roof of the arena is fitted with 88 sun pipes which light up the field of play using natural light, bouncing the Sun's rays onto the field of play.

This will ensure that the venue is sustainable and meets energy saving targets, whilst back up electric lights are also on hand in the event of clouds obstructing sunlight during games.

After the Games the Copper Box will be able to be used for a number of sports, including basketball, badminton and volleyball.