Britomart plans big screen and bar for Olympics

A bar could soon be operating in the Britomart Transport Centre with free to air coverage of the Olympics on a big screen in an attempt to bring pedestrians through the centre and create Olympics hype in the city.

Auckland Regional Transport Network communications manager Aimee Driscoll said a 107cm screen would be erected in the former Chief Post Office area to provide the lower Queen St business district and commuters with a place to view the Olympics.

A sectioned off bar is also planned and the Britomart centre has applied for a liquor licence for the Olympic period.

Rail company Connex will run a display in Britomart. Ms Driscoll said the bar and big screen was really a way of bringing people into the centre, which attracts about 6000 visitors a month.

She said it was about creating an atmosphere for the Olympics, but it was also hoped the bar and big screen would raise the profile of retailers in the area.

The Chief Post Office was the place people went to hear elections results or where they went for news during the war, she said.

"It was a place very rich in history and it would be great to bring that life and vitality back to that area."