How Victoria’s three-city Commonwealth Games plan ran out of control

A preliminary cost estimate of $1.3 billion in October 2021 had doubled to $2.6 billion by April 2022 when Victoria formally secured the Games and doubled again to $5 billion to $6 billion by April this year.

By the time Premier Daniel Andrews dumped the Games two weeks ago, planning for the event was sprawled across six regional cities, with extensive capital works or construction of temporary venues required at 10 sites and the government’s estimated cost blowing out to beyond $5 billion. The spread and associated logistical challenges of a Games expected to attract 400,000 athletes, spectators and officials was cited by multiple sources inside Victoria 2026 as a driver of the rising costs that prompted the Andrews government to scrap the event. A preliminary cost estimate of $1.3 billion in October 2021 had doubled to $2.

, spruiks Victoria’s record in hosting international major events and its status as a “trusted partner for any event owner”. By April 2022, when CGF president Dame Louise Martin announced Victoria as host of the 2026 Games, the Andrews government had already expanded its ambitions for the event beyond the original Visit Victoria proposal, with Gippsland added as a fourth Games “hub”.When asked why Morwell and Traralgon were given events, Phillips said the government wanted to offer something to communities affected by the closure of the coal mines, closing coal-fired power stations and the forestry industry.

“They were brought into the mix for a political reason, but it would seem that other than housing, they would have gotten a very limited legacy,” Phillips said.

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