Joshua Carmody, who moved into the Armstrong Creek area seven years ago, said the Games should be an opportunity to fast-track long-term infrastructure for the area, which is expected to eventually be home for about 60,000.
Above all, Carmody hopes the Games will deliver upgrades to former country roads that are now busy thoroughfares. “The road infrastructure is terrible,” he said.
Armstrong Creek resident Joshua Carmody. Credit: Justin McManus
Carmody is disappointed the competition pools in Armstrong Creek will be dismantled, but welcomes the permanent gymnastics facility because he has two daughters involved in the sport.
Geelong Swimming Club president Glenn Benson said his organisation was developing talented swimmers, but facing the prospect of having no access year-round to a 50-metre pool as the local council prepares to cut opening hours at their Kardinia Aquatic Centre training venue.
“The legacy of the Commonwealth Games should be that the local club has a place to train in perpetuity,” he said.
Committee for Ballarat chief executive Michael Poulton said his regional city would put on a great show when it hosted athletics, boxing and mountain biking.
An artist’s impression of the Commonwealth Games pools planned for Armstrong Creek.
New warm-up facilities will be built at the local showgrounds and Eureka Stadium will be upgraded.
But Poulton said the budget’s vagueness about the Games dealt a blow to hopes of a substantial legacy in Ballarat, such as major improvements to public transport.
He also doubted whether $2.6 billion was enough.
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“The budget didn’t address the fact that [construction] costs are increasing,” he said. “We still haven’t seen any real progress on some fairly major infrastructure projects.”
Other groups such as G21, which represents five local governments in Victoria’s south-west including Geelong, had lobbied for large upgrades to local infrastructure including public transport. It now concedes big improvements to the local train system are unlikely.
This week Commonwealth Games Delivery Minister Jacinta Allan said the Games would contribute more than $3 billion to Victoria’s economy.
“We’re turning a global multi-sport event into a multi-city spectacular, and putting regional Victoria on the world stage,” she said.
Allan said procurement for construction work for the Games was not yet finalised, which meant individual project costs were unknown and not reflected in the 2023-24 budget papers.
Commonwealth Games Delivery Minister Jacinta Allan insists the event will contribute $3 billion to the Victorian economy. Credit: Scott McNaughton
However, Monash University sport lecturer Tom Heenan said it was unlikely the state government could meet the cost with $2.6 billion.
He said the spread of the venues would complicate things and add to the cost.
“No matter what a government says about its budget for these events, the budget always blows out,” Heenan said.
Expressions of interest have gone out for athletes’ villages in Waurn Ponds, Ballarat, Bendigo and Morwell, but the federal government has shown little appetite for contributing to new sports infrastructure.
The site of the Commonwealth Games Athletes village outside Geelong.Credit: Justin McManus
A spokeswoman for federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said the government was happy to explore opportunities to develop the athletes’ villages where it aligned with the goal of building social and affordable housing.
RMIT emeritus professor of public policy David Hayward said the Commonwealth Games would heap financial pressure on councils that are hosting events, while maintaining new sports infrastructure in the long term could become a heavy burden for local governments.
“It’s not their traditional strength to run major international sports events,” he said. “It’s the longer-term impact that concerns me.”
City of Greater Geelong has committed to $7.6 million for the Games. But its financial struggles have resulted in the council preparing to borrow an additional $70 million in the coming financial year, bringing total borrowings to almost $181 million.
Ballarat’s Eureka Stadium, which will host events at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Credit: Eddie Jim
Geelong Mayor Trent Sullivan said all three levels of government needed to contribute to the Games.
This week, Latrobe City Mayor Kellie O’Callaghan said her council was in no position to outlay significant funds on the Games.
“We’ve been pretty clear with the state government … there will be limits to what we can contribute,” she said.
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