Zara Phillips Says Building An Olympic Equestrian Center In London "Pointless"

Britain's Zara Phillips says building the 2012 Olympic equestrian center in London's Greenwich Park would be "pointless." The 27-year-old royal - who is the granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth - says the current location of the center will fail to leave a legacy for the sport.

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Last November, the London Olympic Organizing Committee announced plans to erect a temporary 23,000-seat arena and four-mile cross country course, which will be dismantled as soon as the games are finished.

The decision sparked controversy nationwide and Zara - an eventing world champion and likely member of the 2012 British Olympic team - admits she is frustrated by the temporary nature of the venue.

She told Britain's The Times newspaper: "What is annoying is that they put something there and then take it all down afterwards."

"What's the point of that? Why don't you do it to a space that can used with a legacy, not Greenwich Park where people walk their dogs? I thought that was the whole point of bidding for the Games?"

Zara said Windsor - the location of one of the queen's official residences - would be better suited to a permanent arena.

She said: "Windsor has had horse trials. The rowing is out there, so it's not like it's miles away. It used to host an event but they ran out of money and the ground wasn't great, so why not try to make it better?"

One week ago, the No to Greenwich Equestrian Events group sent an open letter of Zara's mother Princess Anne - who rode for Great Britain in the 1976 Olympics - requesting her support for their campaign.