Premier Jay Weatherill wants Commonwealth Games in Adelaide

PROMINENT South Australian businessman Robert Gerard is spearheading a new bid to bring the Commonwealth Games to Adelaide.

BUSINESSMAN Robert Gerard is spearheading a new bid to bring the Commonwealth Games to Adelaide.

The Sunday Mail can reveal key players in South Australian sport, led by Mr Gerard, are putting together a  committee to build the case for Adelaide to host the 2030 event.

In a major vote of confidence, Premier Jay Weatherill has backed the push - ordering officials to meet with Mr Gerard to flesh out his plans. He said: "It is a bold idea but I think it is the sort of ambition we should have for South Australia."

The move comes four years after the Rann Government dumped a bid for the 2018 games, with former Treasurer Kevin Foley controversially branding it a "B-grade event".

SA Olympic Council president David Prince OAM, who is working on the bid proposal for the event with Mr Gerard, said Adelaide "badly needs a Commonwealth Games".

The Sunday Mail  understands the chairman of the Gerard Corporation - and of the SA Games Appeal Committee - will put his case for the Games bid at the Premier's Games Appeal Dinner fundraiser on July 6.

Mr Gerard, also chairman of the Quarter Club - which raises $250,000 for SA athletes every year - declined to discuss the details of the bid when contacted this week.

Specific details such as venues for an opening and closing ceremony, an athletes' village or upgrades to existing facilities have yet to be nutted out - although Adelaide Oval could be used.

The priority will be to create a Games bid committee of sporting, business and government leaders following the London Olympics.

Mr Prince, who also is SA Games Appeal Committee deputy chair, said the bid was "very much in its infancy".

"We're looking at trying to put together a committee to start highlighting what has to be done between now and 2030 to encourage a Commonwealth Games to Adelaide," Mr Prince said.

SA is the only mainland state yet to host a Commonwealth Games. Adelaide was beaten by Kuala Lumpur to stage the 1998 Games, and in 2008 the Rann Labor Government withdrew from the race for the 2018 event, citing budget pressures. Mr Weatherill said he had asked relevant officials to meet Mr Gerard to explore the idea.

"Obviously it would do wonderful things to raise awareness of South Australia around the world," he said.

With the Gold Coast hosting the 2018 Games, Adelaide's most realistic chance is to host the 2030 event based on the need to share the games equitably among Commonwealth nations.

Commonwealth Games Association SA division secretary Barry Stanton welcomed renewed interest in a host-city bid, saying the spin-offs would benefit athletes in the state for generations.

"The option, if it were given to Adelaide, would be a fantastic boost to sport in this state," he said. "The legacy of some improved facilities would be huge. The host city would be decided six or seven years out, so that means athletes here would have all that time to get to international standard and represent their country here in Adelaide."

However, there are fears that facilities - including the state-of-the-art Marion aquatic centre - will be nearing their use-by dates by the time SA is in contention for the Games.

"It's a pity we had a government that didn't want to look at 2018 because we've now got a lovely new swimming pool - but you go to 2030 and it's going to be fairly old," Mr Stanton said.

"It should have been 2018, because now all the facilities we've got will need to be upgraded. There's a lot that would need to go on if we're going to look at 2030." Adelaide Lord Mayor Stephen Yarwood threw his full support behind plans for a bid.

"I feel strongly this is a conversation that must be had - and it should be about when, not if," he said. "We are the only mainland capital that has not had the Games and it is an important element in our international branding.

"Every city that has had the Games has attracted significant Federal Government funding for infrastructure, and not just for stadiums - this is about things like housing and public transport.

"It would ensure the city gets a spit-and-polish and that it benefits before, during and for years after the Games with a surge in infrastructure."

Opposition Leader Isobel Redmond said it was an idea worth discussing but at this stage she was undecided on the merits of a bid.

"I would be very interested to see the business case and it is certainly an idea worth exploring to see what it would bring to the state," she said.