Local sports groups disappointed at Games cancellation

LOCAL sports groups have expressed their disappointment now some of the world’s best athletes will no longer be coming to Geelong following the Andrews Government’s cancellation of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The infrastructure promised for Geelong – one of five regional hubs for Victoria 2026 – will still be built, and the groups want the final product to be as close as possible as to what was promised.

Opposition Leader John Pesutto, Shadow Minister for Tourism, Sport, and Events Sam Groth and Shadow Minister for the Commonwealth Games David Southwick discussed the issue at a meeting with locals at Corio’s Stead Park, including representatives from the Geelong Hockey Association and YMCA Geelong.

Last week’s visit was almost exactly a year after the Andrews Government visited Stead Park to announce the site would be the hockey venue for the Games and would get two international-standard hockey pitches and upgraded clubrooms.

“Probably the biggest disappointment for us as a sport is we miss out on the opportunity to expose our local kids to international competition – they get to see their own heroes, the people they follow in the paper and on the TV, and they get to meet them in person,” Geelong Hockey Association vice-president Alan Climpson said.

“The opportunity to grow our sport and showcase ourselves to our region and what we can deliver; you just can’t measure it in dollars and cents.

“We look forward to the future and hope we get what was promised to us delivered, and that probably will go some way to hosting international or at least national events.”

He said local sports groups would try to be involved in the consultation about the promised infastructure for Geelong, which includes a aquatic centre at Armstrong Creek, and a six-court indoor stadium at Waurn Ponds.

“I expect we’re going to have to [accept less than promised]… maybe we have a line in the sand where we say ‘That’s what we really want’ and we won’t go below that.”

Mr Pesutto said the cancellation would cost Victorians an “enormous” amount of compensation and damages, and suggested the figure could be $1 billion or higher.

“No-one has taken responsibility for arguably the biggest debacle in over 30 years,” he said.

“For those who can remember, you would probably have to go back to the State Bank debable of the early 1990s for a similar type of fiasco.”

On Tuesday last week, Mr Andrews announced his government would abandon its plan to host the Games because the cost had ballooned from the expected $2.6 billion to at least $6 billion and possibly as high as $7 billion.

To date, the Premier has not specifically apologised to the athletes who would have competed in Victoria 2026.

“I’m sorry that we are in this position but I’m not going to apologise for not taking money out of hospitals and schools,” Mr Andrews said last week.