Editing Millennium Dome (section)

== Closure and sale of site ==
The government's difficulties in selling the site became the subject of much critical comment.<ref name="Guardian December 2001">{{cite news |publisher=Guardian News and Media |work=The Guardian |title=Legacy loses exclusive dome bidding rights |date=18 December 2001 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/dec/18/dome.politics |access-date=3 May 2008 |location=London
}}</ref> The amount spent on maintaining the closed building was also criticised.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Davey |first1=Jenny |title=Taxpayers' £33m bill for Dome |url=https://www.thetimes.com/life-style/property-home/article/taxpayers-pound33m-bill-for-dome-6lhzsbt2hsk |website=The Times Online |publisher=[[The Times]] |language=en}}</ref> Shortly after it had closed, Lord Falconer reported that The Dome was costing over £1&nbsp;million per month to maintain.<ref name="Guardian February 2001">{{cite news |publisher=Guardian News and Media |work=The Guardian |title=Legacy loses exclusive dome bidding rights |date=15 February 2001 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2001/feb/15/dome |access-date=3 May 2008 |location=London}}</ref>

Following closure of the Dome, some Zones were dismantled by the sponsoring organisations, but much of the content was auctioned or donated to Disney World. This included a number of artworks specially commissioned from contemporary British artists. A piece by [[Gavin Turk]] was sold for far below his auction price, though Turk stated that he did not think the piece had worked.{{Clarify|date=April 2008}} The Timekeepers of the Millennium attraction was acquired by the [[Chessington World of Adventures]] theme park in [[Surrey]]. A unique record of the memorabilia and paraphernalia of the Millennium Experience is held by a private collector in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dome2000.com/|title=The Millennium Dome: A collection|access-date=4 July 2007}}</ref> Many of the fixtures and fittings were also purchased by [[Paul Scally]], chairman of [[Gillingham F.C.]], for the club's stadium.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030119/ai_n9682090 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080611184146/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4159/is_20030119/ai_n9682090 |url-status=dead |archive-date=11 June 2008 |title=Football: He paid £1 for the club. Now the Gills are quids in |work=The Independent on Sunday |first=Steve |last=Tongue |access-date=8 November 2007 |date=19 January 2003}}</ref>