Victoria 2026 - Commonwealth Games

[Victorian]

 

 

 

[ulu]

I'm sure @Australian Kiwiwill be around shortly to criticise this as it was Victoria that bid for the games not the Commonwealth.

[Victorian]

 

 

An issue with steel delaying the construction of the new grandstand at Kardinia Park (venue that will host Cricket and the Closing Ceremony at the Commonwealth Games)

 

Further needs for Geelong

 

[Victorian]

 

 

An issue with steel delaying the construction of the new grandstand at Kardinia Park (venue that will host Cricket and the Closing Ceremony at the Commonwealth Games)

 

Further needs for Geelong

 

 

[Australian Kiwi]

On 3/4/2023 at 6:01 PM, ulu said:

I'm sure @Australian Kiwiwill be around shortly to criticise this as it was Victoria that bid for the games not the Commonwealth.

Yep - why should NSW or WA taxpayers foot the bill for the 2026 event that they all passed on?

[AustralianFan]

On 3/4/2023 at 6:01 PM, ulu said:

I'm sure @Australian Kiwiwill be around shortly to criticise this as it was Victoria that bid for the games not the Commonwealth.

I agree with you Ulu

• For the 2000 Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Australian Government invested A$71.8 million while the NSW Government invested A$382.3 million
• For the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, the Australian Government invested A$90 million while the Victorian Government investment was A$601m.
• For the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the Australian Government invested A$154 and the Queensland Government invested A$166 million.
• For the 2026 Victoria  Commonwealth Games, both the Australian Government and the Victorian Governments will invest in this international sporting competition to ensure that sporting facilities for the Games are of world-class standard.

 @Australian Kiwi is in dreamland.

[RooBlu]

On 3/4/2023 at 2:13 PM, Victorian said:

 

 

 

They haven't got a chance in Hell of getting any direct funding. The Federal Government don't have a very good record at all of funding major sports projects in Victoria. I'll make that call now. All the stadiums for the 2006 Comm Games had to be State Funded because the Federal Government at the time made any funding conditional that unions would not be involved in any construction. While now there is a different flavour of government in Canberra, the Federal Government find themselves in a very different debt situation today than back in 2003-2006 when we virtually had zero federal debt.

I'm afraid that with Tasmania hitting the Federal Government up for $330 million to put toward a new footy stadium and other states with demands for sports funding, I seriously don't like Victoria's chances.

The Andrews government are just going to have to bite the bullet and accept that the Federal Government's contributions will mainly be limited to provision of defence resources to provide security and other Games support.

[RooBlu]

12 hours ago, Australian Kiwi said:

Yep - why should NSW or WA taxpayers foot the bill for the 2026 event that they all passed on?

If you hold to that point, and I can see your point of view on this, then you would rightly be asking why should Australian's be footing $7 billion toward Brisbane's Olympics? After all - Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney never bidded for them. At the time of Brisbane's bid, no other city in world wanted the 2032 Olympics either. So would you agree that Queensland should be entirely paying for the 2032 Olympics?

While it's true that WA, NSW and SA all passed on bidding for the 2026 Comm Games, that was on the premise that they believed that their states could not absorb the cost of funding at least 70% of the event. It must also be considered that those states also had other reasons for declining the Games beyond simply costs including questions about infrastructure spending. NSW was already invested in another major sporting bid and was spending large amounts of money on new NRL stadiums. WA and SA considered the feasibility and long-term viability of building villages and sports facilities against the construction of new hospitals and declined largely on those grounds.

I don't disagree with you and I have long been a critic of Australia being the bunny who continually puts its hand up to host the extremely expensive five ring circus, particularly when there are plenty of countries in the world wealthier than us who've never hosted. Further after the Brisbane 2032 Games, it is likely that Australia will never host the Olympics again because we're in the Southern Hemisphere and seasons misaligned against the big Northern Hemisphere sporting competitions.

All of that said, the Comm Games is a lot different in that it is considerably less expensive costing about one quarter of the cost of staging an Olympics. It serves as an excellent springboard for athletes to compete on the world stage.

[RooBlu]

6 hours ago, AustralianFan said:

I agree with you Ulu

• For the 2000 Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Australian Government invested A$71.8 million while the NSW Government invested A$382.3 million
• For the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, the Australian Government invested A$90 million while the Victorian Government investment was A$601m.
• For the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, the Australian Government invested A$154 and the Queensland Government invested A$166 million.
• For the 2026 Victoria  Commonwealth Games, both the Australian Government and the Victorian Governments will invest in this international sporting competition to ensure that sporting facilities for the Games are of world-class standard.

 @Australian Kiwi is in dreamland.

"For the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, the Australian Government invested A$90 million while the Victorian Government investment was A$601m." Not quite true ... The $90 mil from the Howard Government at the time was promised but never delivered because in 2002 Tony Abbott (who was Workplace Minister at the time) insisted that the $90 million promised to assist in the $450 million construction of the Ponsford/Members/Olympic Stands at the MCG was conditional that "no union labour could be used to build the stand". In the end, Premier Steve Bracks told the Federal Government that it was not possible and that was how the federal government shirked paying for the MCG upgrade. The entire MCG upgrade was jointly funded by the AFL ($105 mil), the MCC ($165 mil) and the State Government ($180 mil).

Irrespective of what @Australian Kiwi says on the matter, given that Tasmania is asking for over $330 mil to partly fund its proposed $730 million AFL/Cricket stadium in Hobart (Which they will most likely eventually get), and the $7 billion promised to Queensland to fund construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the Brisbane Olympics, I can't see Mr (I inherited a trillion-dollar debt) Chalmers doling out a further $1.3 bil.

Postscript

As a postscript to the 2003-2006 MCG redevelopment, the project was finally completed for $425 million ($25 million under budget) and three months ahead of schedule ... all with union labour. 

[RooBlu]

Commonwealth Games 2026: Victorian government opens tenders for Ballarat athletes village

By Melanie Whelan, Malvika Hemanth, and Bryan Hoadley

Updated March 6 2023 - 12:31pm, first published 12:30pm

 

One of the heritage-listed buildings that will remain at the old Ballarat Saleyards amid Commonwealth Games building.

TENDERS for civil works on the Commonwealth Games athletes' village site in Delacombe have opened on Monday. The Ballarat athlete's village will be built on the former saleyards, and will contain an estimated 301 new houses, ranging in size. Unlike neighbouring host cities Bendigo and Geelong, the Ballarat village will not feature apartments.

Development Victoria made an advance tender notice late last year for soil remediation works at the site, which opened in 1864 and operated as saleyards for more than 150 years until its closure in October 2018. This tender is expected to be awarded by mid this year. The state government has confirmed expressions of interest for civil works across all proposed athlete hubs, also including Morwell, are officially open and will remain so until March 28.

Such works are separate to the tenders for planned housing in the villages. Designs for each village remain under development. Early civil works are expected to begin later this year.

The state government confirmed via a media statement each Games village had different requirements in civil works but works "could include bulk earthworks, installation of new drains and sewers, the relocation of power, gas and water, roads construction, general demolition, remediation and clearing works".

Contractors can apply in single or across multiple projects. Commonwealth Games Delivery Minister Jacinta Allan said these were a chance for local businesses to partner in "creating modern, accessible, and energy efficient villages".

The Victorian government is yet to divulge further details on the expansion at Ballarat's Eureka Stadium (Commercially known as Mars Stadium), which will house the Games' track and field program, or other infrastructure upgrades needed around the city. The government has also not yet made clear what upgrades, if any, are to be made at Ballarat Sports and Events Centre (Commercially as Selkirk Stadium), which opened in July 2019 and is set to stage the Games' boxing competitions.

Base camp preparations are under way for the Games' Geelong waterfront with about 50 staff allocated. The Courier has confirmed the Games' Organising Committee's Geelong headquarters will be supported by offices in Ballarat's GovHub.

However, the government has announced geotechnical testing would begin at Mars Stadium. Testing would also be undertaken at the Ballarat Showgrounds site adjacent to Mars Stadium, using drilling rigs mounted on a four-wheel drive. Interested parties can register via the Buying for Victoria website buyingfor.vic.gov.au, from which a shortlist of contractors will be invited to participate in a Request for Proposal process.

PREVIOUSLY ON FEBRUARY 22, 2023

The scope of civil works required for Ballarat's athlete's village has been revealed, as the Victorian government advances preparations for the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Expressions of interest will open in March for the roadworks and other civil construction, separate to the tender for the planned housing.

According to a state government media release, construction of the athlete's village will include bulk earthworks, installation of new drains and sewers, the relocation of existing services such as power, gas and water, construction of new roads, upgrades to existing roads, and general demolition and clearing works.

The Ballarat athlete's village will be built on the former saleyards in Delacombe, and will contain an estimated 301 new houses, ranging from one to four bedrooms.

COMMONWEALTH GAMES 2026 COUNTDOWN - 1106 DAYS TO GO

Unlike Geelong and Bendigo there will be no apartments in Ballarat, instead the village will be made up of townhouses and houses on 80 to 210 square metre sites. Ballarat construction companies will be encouraged to apply under the government's local jobs first policy. 

Work on the village is set to begin this year and must be completed by September 2025. Development Victoria's Commonwealth Games group head Joanne Wandel said in a statement it was a great opportunity for regional contractors to be involved in the construction of athlete's villages. "We'll work closely with the construction sector over the next three years, with significant investment being made by the Victorian Government in community infrastructure, including housing and world-class sports facilities," she said. "This first stage of works on the villages will lay the foundations to leave a long-lasting legacy including additional housing in regional communities."

 

Ballarat will host the athletics and para-athletics, including the marathon, plus boxing events, with mountain biking at Creswick. A massive infrastructure spend is currently in the planning stages, including a new overpass at Ballarat station, and thousands of new seats for Eureka Stadium. Still no word on whether there will be a train platform or station in the vicinity of Mars Stadium.

[Sir Rols]

3 hours ago, RooBlu said:

If you hold to that point, and I can see your point of view on this, then you would rightly be asking why should Australian's be footing $7 billion toward Brisbane's Olympics?

And he does, and has said so on the forums.

3 hours ago, RooBlu said:

At the time of Brisbane's bid, no other city in world wanted the 2032 Olympics either.

Not strictly true. Arguments on whether others who’d expressed interest were caught snoozing aside, 2032 was awarded well before anyone expected they had to have their act together, and it was protested by a number of NOCs who felt they’d been blindsided. There certainly were rival bids in the works, who got caught out by a change of selection procedure in the middle of a global pandemic.

[ulu]

56 minutes ago, RooBlu said:

Irrespective of what @Australian Kiwi says on the matter, given that Tasmania is asking for over $330 mil to partly fund its proposed $730 million AFL/Cricket stadium in Hobart (Which they will most likely eventually get), and the $7 billion promised to Queensland to fund construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the Brisbane Olympics, I can't see Mr (I inherited a trillion-dollar debt) Chalmers doling out a further $1.3 bil.

The federal government has promised $3.4 billion not $7 billion.

Quote

A $7 billion Olympics fund will turn Queensland into a "powerhouse", Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says.

The federal government is set to contribute just over $3.4 billion to the funding package.

The Queensland government will fund a $2.7 billion redevelopment of the Gabba while the Federal Government will provide $2.5 billion for the Brisbane Arena development.

Sixteen new or upgraded venues will receive close to $1.87 billion in co-funding on a 50-50 basis between the two governments.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/brisbane-olympics-2032-updates-upgrades-7-billion-funding-announcement-queensland-stadiums-gabba/de9ecbdc-de40-4b99-92c7-1a53c4b67a75

[RooBlu]

"A $7 billion Olympics fund will turn Queensland into a "powerhouse", Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says." A powerhouse for what? 

I have to admit that it is ironic that the QLD Government bailed out the IOC in bidding for the 2032 Games and the IOC subsequently more or less announced that no Southern Hemisphere nation will be eligible to bid for the Olympics again after Brisbane. Oh well, Australian's bloody well better enjoy them and the $10-15 billion price tag that will come with holding a two-week feel-good event. The $5 billion that Anastasia initially claimed that they would cost has now been blown out of the water and we will see the costs associated with holding the Olympics steadily escalate as I predicted that they would when Brisbane was bidding.

For those old enough to remember it, I still think that Brisbane got the best bang for buck ever out of holding World Expo 88. For $180 million 1980s dollars, it transformed Brisbane, brought in hundreds of thousands of international and interstate tourists and seriously put Brisbane on the map for six months (Not just for two weeks).

[AustralianFan]

3 hours ago, RooBlu said:

"For the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, the Australian Government invested A$90 million while the Victorian Government investment was A$601m." Not quite true ... The $90 mil from the Howard Government at the time was promised but never delivered because in 2002 Tony Abbott (who was Workplace Minister at the time) insisted that the $90 million promised to assist in the $450 million construction of the Ponsford/Members/Olympic Stands at the MCG was conditional that "no union labour could be used to build the stand". In the end, Premier Steve Bracks told the Federal Government that it was not possible and that was how the federal government shirked paying for the MCG upgrade. The entire MCG upgrade was jointly funded by the AFL ($105 mil), the MCC ($165 mil) and the State Government ($180 mil).

Irrespective of what @Australian Kiwi says on the matter, given that Tasmania is asking for over $330 mil to partly fund its proposed $730 million AFL/Cricket stadium in Hobart (Which they will most likely eventually get), and the $7 billion promised to Queensland to fund construction of stadiums and infrastructure for the Brisbane Olympics, I can't see Mr (I inherited a trillion-dollar debt) Chalmers doling out a further $1.3 bil.

Postscript

As a postscript to the 2003-2006 MCG redevelopment, the project was finally completed for $425 million ($25 million under budget) and three months ahead of schedule ... all with union labour. 

Excellent summary and analogy.   Thankyou

[RooBlu]

2 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

Not strictly true. Arguments on whether others who’d expressed interest were caught snoozing aside, 2032 was awarded well before anyone expected they had to have their act together, and it was protested by a number of NOCs who felt they’d been blindsided. There certainly were rival bids in the works, who got caught out by a change of selection procedure in the middle of a global pandemic.

Other cities did have bids in for 2032, but as cities were dropping like flies from the 2024 and 2028 bids the IOC panicked and locked in Paris, LA and Brisbane before they all changed their minds too. The IOC knows that their Olympics has become over bloated and having seen the economic damage and decaying venues that will never be used again in Athens and Rio, it's simply scared other potential bidders into re-considering why the Hell they are even considering bidding? London didn't get any spare change from $14 billion US dollars (and the Poms are not financially incompetent) and that was 11 years ago. Yet Anastasia claimed $5 billion to host them in Brisbane 9 years from now ... All that I can suggest to that is:

[AustralianFan]

2 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

Not strictly true. Arguments on whether others who’d expressed interest were caught snoozing aside, 2032 was awarded well before anyone expected they had to have their act together, and it was protested by a number of NOCs who felt they’d been blindsided. There certainly were rival bids in the works, who got caught out by a change of selection procedure in the middle of a global pandemic.

The selection procedure didn’t change during a pandemic.  That’s the excuse that’s wheeled out when runners miss the start gun.  “I missed the start, I didn’t hear the starters gun,  I wasn’t ready, I was blind-sided … etc etc”

So yes, Brisbane heard the New Norm starters gun go off on the new host selection procedures starting and it never stopped running until it won the prize.

 The New Norm changes were published in that report just prior to the 2018 Winter Olympics.   They stayed the same right through until Brisbane was elected host on 21 July 2021.

But you were right about the others interested in 2032 were “snoozing”.  

As the saying goes, you snooze, you lose.

[Sir Rols]

2 minutes ago, AustralianFan said:

As the saying goes, you snooze, you lose.

Or you get played….

[Victorian]

 

 

[Australian Kiwi]

23 hours ago, RooBlu said:

If you hold to that point, and I can see your point of view on this, then you would rightly be asking why should Australian's be footing $7 billion toward Brisbane's Olympics? After all - Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Hobart and Sydney never bidded for them. At the time of Brisbane's bid, no other city in world wanted the 2032 Olympics either. So would you agree that Queensland should be entirely paying for the 2032 Olympics?

 

Yes - Queensland should be paying the entire bill for their billion dollar event. Not a single cent should come from Canberra. If they can't afford it they should never have bid. 

Security is separate. Naturally I would support the ADF/AFPs role in 2032. Beyond this, zilch. 

[Victorian]

 

 

[TorchbearerSydney]

The Olympics are an event of national and international importance- there is nothing wrong with the Federal Govt assisting in its costs.

You may have missed it but the National Govt assists in building toilet blocks, and roads, and carparks and all number of local projects across the country.....this artificial tribalism is a bit childish.

[RooBlu]

10 hours ago, TorchbearerSydney said:

The Olympics are an event of national and international importance- there is nothing wrong with the Federal Govt assisting in its costs.

You may have missed it but the National Govt assists in building toilet blocks, and roads, and carparks and all number of local projects across the country.....this artificial tribalism is a bit childish.

As I've said, like it or lump it, we're stuck with the 2032 Games now, so irrespective of funding arrangements or who's paying for what, we're obligated to make it work. Given that Australia will never host the Olympic Games ever again, people jolly well better make the most of it. Given the long lead time for these Games, which was 12 years from their announcement, a lot can happen globally. It's a huge financial risk. Considering the tens of billions that was spent preparing Tokyo for the 2020 (2021) Games and in the end nobody was able to attend, the Japanese lost billions in tourism, ticketing sales, visitor profile etc.

We seriously don't know where the world will be by 2032 and I am predicting that it will not be in a good place. So far the 21st Century has delivered September 11 2001, the 2004 Tsunami, the Iraq War, the 2008 GFC, the COVID pandemic, the Ukraine War, ballooning government deficits (State and Federal), and now the real possibility of a war between the US and China which would directly impact Australia through physical and cyber attacks, massive loss of revenues if all trade with China (Coal, Iron-ore, Bauxite, food stuffs, cereals and other commodities) are suspended indefinitely, and a total disruption to the supply of manufactured goods globally. 

I don't look ahead with much confidence for Australia's future, much less enough confidence to say that the 2032 Olympics will indeed ever happen at all. 

[Sir Rols]

11 hours ago, TorchbearerSydney said:

The Olympics are an event of national and international importance- there is nothing wrong with the Federal Govt assisting in its costs.

You may have missed it but the National Govt assists in building toilet blocks, and roads, and carparks and all number of local projects across the country.....this artificial tribalism is a bit childish.

Personally, I’m okay with Federal funds going towards the games. What I find a bit more hard to stomach is the notion that a games that was sold as a low-cost, responsible bid with the vast bulk of everything already existing suddenly has a $9.7 billion price tag - for construction alone - nine years out.

That said, being against a federal contribution isn’t a “wrong” opinion. Most of us here - on a board full of Olympic fans - are likely comfortable with it. But that’s not to say we should devalue he views of people who don’t see the benefits of huge spending on a two weeks sports festival. I’ve often said the Olympics, indeed any games, are a luxury for those who can afford it, not a necessity. Many a city, both in Oz and around the world, have abandoned nascent bids for events because they just can’t really justify or sell to the public the cost-benefits ratio. That’s not doing anything wrong. And there’s plenty of academic studies that have shown much of the so-called benefits of a games are oversold or just plain non-existent. Especially when many of the benefits touted - heightened civic spirits, increased profile, are just so intangible.

It’s fair enough to be comfortable with costs and funding splits, and to say so and defend them, but it’s just as valid to be against it and to say so.

53 minutes ago, RooBlu said:

I don't look ahead with much confidence for Australia's future, much less enough confidence to say that the 2032 Olympics will indeed ever happen at all. 

That’s possible, but hopefully not. There’s no point in planning ahead or undertaking any project for the future if you’re pessimistic about that future. You HAVE TO look forward to a future with some degree of optimism if you want to progress, or at least strive to achieve a better future.

Edited March 7, 2023 by Sir Rols

[TorchbearerSydney]

10 billion over 10 years is not a lot of money- and most of this going towards building facilities, infrastructure and for remodeling right across SE Queensland as it transitions to a mega city 3-4-5 million. 

I actually think it is the type of long term planning Brisbane- GC needs to make them more sustainable and livable. There are a lot of great long term deliverables coming from the Olympics.

[Sir Rols]

27 minutes ago, TorchbearerSydney said:

10 billion over 10 years is not a lot of money- and most of this going towards building facilities, infrastructure and for remodeling right across SE Queensland as it transitions to a mega city 3-4-5 million. 

I actually think it is the type of long term planning Brisbane- GC needs to make them more sustainable and livable. There are a lot of great long term deliverables coming from the Olympics.

Fair enough - I tend to agree. But it would have been better if that cost was outlined up-front rather than only revealed when it became a fate accompli.

And while one person’s $10 billion is a good investment in region building, it’s also another person’s $10 billion that’s not going to schools or hospitals.