​Phil Wicks can still recall Usain Bolt sweeping into a packed south London stadium for a sparkling athletics evening. It was an affordable,_trackside experience for a major televised international meet, and as a student, he would attend every year. This was Crystal Palace National Sports Centre, the longtime home of the London Grand Prix and later the London Diamond League until 2011. Nearly every legend of the sport—Seb Coe, Steve Ovett, Kelly Holmes, and more—raced there.
Everything changed after London staged the 2012 Olympics, when the London Stadium in Stratford became the preferred venue for the UK’s flagship annual athletics meeting. Today known as the London Athletics Meet, the event has sold out for the past three years running, drawing about 55,000 spectators from across the country to watch track stars and Olympians chase records and prize money. Yet families and fans told BBC News this week that even the cheaper track seats—priced at around £95 and among the most expensive in the 15-city elite league—were pricing many out. Our analysis showed those seats sit among the priciest options in the league.
This has sparked a debate over whether the London Stadium, a £750m build-and-regeneration project, is the best home for the London Diamond League—or if there might be a better alternative. Crystal Palace’s own London Grand Prix, the event’s predecessor, was once a packed, vibrant affair. The London Diamond League, as seen in 2025, features larger stands at the London Stadium, making it the biggest one-day athletics event in the world. Yet Wicks notes that Crystal Palace offered cheaper prices in the past, once adjusted for inflation, and fears for the present-day cost of attending with a family. He estimates that a family trip to this year’s meet could run to about £300 plus travel and food, a figure he argues organisers can justify by the stadium’s full crowds and the high cost of entertainment in the capital.
Crystal Palace, however, is currently described by Wicks as “a complete wreck,” its facilities deteriorating. That scenario could change with recently submitted redevelopment plans for the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre to Bromley Council, supported by London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s £130m funding and Morgan Sindall as the principal contractor. A decision on the proposal is anticipated within weeks. If a commercial partner can be secured to fund the stadium element of the development, Crystal Palace’s appeal as a venue for major track and field meets could surge again. Yet the project faces significant hurdles, including the estimated £100m to £150m required to ready the stadium by 2030. There is also the challenge that London Diamond League organizers—Athletic Ventures, which includes UK Athletics—have shown no sign of yet committing to any specific venue or plan that would guarantee a return to Crystal Palace.