A major step forward in the transformation of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park was achieved today with the award of a number of multimillion pound contracts to transform the Stadium to its legacy use.

The E20 Stadium Partnership, set up between the London Legacy Development Corporation and London Newham Council to manage the Stadium has awarded a £41 million contract to Balfour Beatty Group Limited to carry out works on the stadium roof. This will help convert it into an all round multi-use venue and deliver a lasting sporting, cultural and commercial legacy in east London. Balfour Beatty will begin to dismantle the existing roof and floodlight towers from autumn 2013.

Once the existing roof and floodlight towers are removed a new roof will be built and lifted into position. It will be twice the size of the original at around 45,000sq metres. It will cover every seat in the ground and improve the acoustics for matches and concerts.

The retractable seating arrangements in the Stadium will allow for seats to be moved backwards and forwards depending on the type of event taking place. It will allow pitch side football viewing while retaining the iconic international class running track.

All roof works will be complete by spring 2015 in time for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Transformation works at the Stadium will be complete by spring 2016 for the start of the new season in 2016/17 when it will become the home of West Ham United Football Club.

Imtech G&H, who have considerable experience of working on the Velodrome, has been awarded a £25m contract for electrical and plumbing work in the Stadium. The E20 Stadium Partnership has also awarded a £1.5m contract to Carey’s PLC who will carry out preparatory work for Balfour Beatty.

The Stadium was recently used this month for the first time since the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, as the finish of the National Lottery Anniversary Run, where 12,500 competitors were able to follow in the footsteps of their London 2012 heroes watched by 30,000 spectators.

This weekend it is set to host three days of world class athletics action with the Sainsbury’s Anniversary Games taking place between 26-28 July. The games are part of the celebrations to mark the anniversary of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said:

“The awarding of these contracts to convert the Olympic Stadium marks another momentous chapter in London’s 2012 legacy story.  A huge amount of work lies ahead, but we now look towards an even brighter future for what is an already stunning sporting arena.”

Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, said:

“Newham believed from the start of the Olympic project that the venues should have as much flexibility as possible to deliver a long term legacy.

“The stadium partially achieved this, but the improvements being made will take it to another level and ensure that it is a world class multi-use stadium that will be the envy of the world.

“It will have state of the art retractable seats, a roof that covers all seats in football and athletics mode and a set up for concerts that means the atmosphere created during the Games can be equalled or even bettered and will ensure that the Stadium is used for generations to come.”

Dennis Hone, Chief Executive of the London Legacy Corporation, said:

“Work is going on all over the Park transforming the venues for community use. With these contracts now in place, work adapting the iconic Stadium for its bright future can begin in earnest and this is tremendously exciting. The plans for the Stadium works are ambitious and will secure its reputation as a world-class venue for sport.”