VICTORIAN PREMIER DANIEL ANDREWS JULY 18 2023. SOURCE: AAP/JAMES ROSS. And Bendigo's Aaron ‘disco’ Wilson. Source: Commonwealth Games Australia.
The Victorian government’s decision to pull out from hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games has shocked and disappointed small business representatives, even after regional entrepreneurs expressed concerns over a lack of planning detail and the likelihood of cost blowouts.
On Tuesday morning, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed long-established plans to host the Commonwealth Games across Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland, and Shepparton, will not go ahead.
The forecasted cost of the event had expanded to $6 billion, and could stretch as far as $7 billion, Andrews said, up from initial estimates of some $2.6 billion.
The revised cost meant hosting the Commonwealth Games would be financially untenable given the state’s other budget priorities, he said.
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“I will not take money out of hospitals and schools to host an event that is three times the cost estimated and budgeted for last year,” Andrews told reporters.
The 2026 event was slated as a major drawcard for its host cities, and a chance to expose regional Victoria to a global audience.
Those communities were also in line for major government funding boosts, intended to build temporary sports facilities and upgrade existing grounds to a world-class standard.
Small businesses in regional Victoria were attuned to potential the tourism, hospitality, and construction benefits associated with the event and its necessary upgrades.
Despite the fate of the 2026 event now being put in limbo, the state government has confirmed those regions will still face a $2 billion government funding package, split between funding for new and existing venues, and social and affordable housing.
“Whether it’s new venues at Armstrong Creek and Waurn Ponds, major upgrades at Eureka Stadium, Bendigo Stadium, Ted Summerton Reserve, or many other smaller projects, every one of the permanent new and upgraded sports facilities will be delivered,” said Jacinta Allan, Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery.
“Surprise and disappointment” for Bendigo businesses
Business communities now say they were excited by the potential of the Commonwealth Games, even if they were yet to establish exactly how local businesses would benefit from the event.
The cancellation has been keenly felt in Bendigo, which was set to host events spanning netball, squash, track cycling, and para track cycling, through to 3×3 basketball and wheelchair basketball.
Bendigo Lawn Bowls Club was also designated as the site of the 2026 Commonwealth Games lawn bowls and para lawn bowls events, where Bendigo-born Aaron ‘Disco’ Wilson was slated to challenge for his third gold medal in the men’s singles competition.
The decision is now rippling through Bendigo’s small business community, which was working to maximise the opportunities presented by the event.
The cancellation came as “a surprise and disappointment” to local traders figuring out how to maximise its potential, said Rob Herbert, CEO of Bendigo’s chamber of commerce Be.Bendigo.
In a Tuesday statement, Herbert said local traders had put in a “great deal of time and effort” into understanding “the opportunities being presented by the Commonwealth Games, including during the preparation and construction phases”.
Beyond the initial economic boost delivered by athletes, staff, and fans of the event, Herbert hoped it would entice others “back in the future to visit, study or work, as they realise the attractions of our city”.
While acknowledging the decision to avoid a multi-billion dollar cost blowout, he said attention will now turn to ensure the state government delivers on its new promises, including the redevelopment of five Bendigo Bowls Club grounds, upgrades to the Bendigo Showgrounds, and four additional courts at the Bendigo Stadium.
Those upgrades will support the region’s growing population while tipping extra money into the local economy when partnered with regional tourism funding, he added.
“Lack of planning foresight” referenced by businesses
The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), the state’s peak body for chambers of commerce, shared the view that cancelling the event is a disappointment.
However, the organisation suggested that the planning process did not come without its own struggles.
In a statement, VCCI acting chief executive Scott Veenker said members in Geelong and Shepparton “expressed their concerns about the Commonwealth Games to us at several regional roundtable discussions in recent months.
“This was in the context of perceived lack of planning foresight and detail, as well as a pattern of cost blowouts on major projects.”
The $2 billion commitment to sporting facilities development and affordable housing is welcome, Veenker said but said the cancellation will ultimately harm the state’s brand and potential to host global events in the future.
VCCI’s “biggest concern is the damage to our global reputation as both a sporting mecca and major event capital and we are already seeing the reverberations of that across the globe,” he said.
“It would have been preferable to have used our existing world-class sporting infrastructure and accommodation and hospitality offerings to propose a reimagined Games which would have ameliorated some of the brand damage associated with non-delivery.”
Now, VCCI is focused on ensuring the $2 billion package is “spent to benefit our economy and our regional communities,” he added.
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