Games prep goes under the Senate microscope

INVESTMENT and infrastructure needs for Geelong to successfully host the 2026 Commonwealth Games are the subject of an ongoing inquiy in the federal Senate.

The Parliament’s Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee will prepare a report into Australia’s preparedness to host the regional Victorian event as well as the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, which will be in Brisbane.

The inquiry will assess existing sporting infrastructure and accommodation at host regions and need for any potential investment, while also examining accountability and oversight processes to regulate spending.

Proposed costs and benefits for host communities, economic and tourism windfalls, and potential impacts on housing affordability, local government and businesses are all set to come under the microscope.

The inquiry’s terms of reference state that the country should be prepared to not only seamlessly host the Games but also ensure the event leaves “a legacy of sporting infrastructure to encourage more Australians to participate in elite and community sports and live active lifestyles”.

Geelong, including the Surf Coast and Bellarine Peninsula, is set to host nine sports for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The state government has already earmarked up to $292 million will need to be spent on new facilities in Geelong.

The Games will include an aquatics centre at Armstrong Creek, which would become a community pool with multi-purpose courts and green open space after the event; and a Waurn Ponds venue that will become seven multi-sport courts, a dance studio, and a regional-level gymnastics centre.

Geelong’s home of hockey Stead Park will also have two new international-standard pitches to host elite competition, while the soon-to-be-completed revamp of GMHBA Stadium will enable it to host T20 cricket and the closing ceremony.

Local housing will also receive a boost from an approximately 3,000-bed athletes’ village that is set to become social housing after 2026.

Public submissions for the inquiry close on April 28, with the committee due to table a report by September 1.