Time running out for SA’s 2030 Commonwealth Games bid

ADELAIDE is in danger of losing the 2030 Commonwealth Games to regional Victoria, and our bid is “not going to happen” if the State Government fails to “get its act together”, advocates have warned.

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ADELAIDE is in danger of losing the 2030 Commonwealth Games to regional Victoria, and our bid is “not going to happen” if the State Government fails to “get its act together”, advocates have warned.

The Australian Commonwealth Games Association’s SA division secretary Barry Stanton said it had not had the support of the Government and the onus was on Premier Jay Weatherill, who last year said he wanted SA to bid for the Games but first wanted to “carefully explore both the potential costs and benefits”.

“Until that is there in writing, it’s not going to happen,” Mr Stanton said.

Victoria has already shot to $4 favouritism for the 2030 Games just a week after 11 Victorian regional cities and towns launched a bid for the hosting rights.

Mr Stanton said it would be “disappointing” if the Games went to regional Victoria instead of Adelaide, but it didn’t matter who else made bids until the Government “got its act together”.

Adelaide was beaten by Kuala Lumpur to stage the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Australian Commonwealth Games Association’s SA division secretary Barry Stanton

In 2008, the Rann Government withdrew from the race to host the 2018 Games after former treasurer Kevin Foley labelled them “a B-grade event”.

Mr Stanton said that “all along the way, there’s been difficulties with the SA Government saying it’s too expensive”.

“We’ve even had one politician say it was a second grade competition and we shouldn’t be involved,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of venues that would be good for the Games now but when you look forward to 2030 it would require a lot of infrastructure upgrades and money.

A State Government spokesman said a decision had yet to be made on the 2030 Games.

“Adelaide would be a great Commonwealth Games city and we’ve had good discussions with the Commonwealth Games Association of Australia during the past three years,” he said.

“They are aware of our interest in hosting the Games in Adelaide”.

Seven-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist and former state governor Marjorie Jackson-Nelson said she was “all for it”.

“We need a lot of things to make jobs in this state, so I think it would be worth going for..

“I hope they at least think about it because we have to do something to entice people to our state and we always put on a great show.’’

Dual-Olympian marathon star Jess Trengove told The Advertiser she would love to win a medal here if Adelaide gets to host the major international event.

Dual-Olympian marathon star Jess Trengove finishes third in the Women’s Marathon in the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. Picture: Getty

“A Commonwealth Games would showcase what a great city we have but it’s also an opportunity to present the surrounding regions, like the Tour Down Under does,’’ she said.

“I go interstate and see all these athletes training and I think, ‘we’ve got everything and more in SA in terms of places to run and ride’.

“It’s just some of those higher-tech facilities that a Commonwealth Games would bring out.”

Prominent businessman Rob Gerard, who is overseas and couldn’t be contacted for comment, has previously said “if we don’t do it, we’re stuffed”.

“The submarines won’t fix the state but paired with getting the Games (it) could,” he said.

“(A bid) needs council, State Government and Federal Government signatures but it is there for the taking.”

Mr Gerard has said the State Government needed to seriously consider urban designer David Cooke’s study into boosting the economy through the Games.

The study, Short Term Games, Long Term Gains, found that hosting the Games in Adelaide and building the required infrastructure would cost about $2.6 billion but deliver an economic boost of about $4.4 billion, including creating 41,000 jobs, over a decade.

Opposition spokesman Corey Wingard said the Liberals supported South Australia submitting an expression of interest to host the Commonwealth Games, but the State Government had dragged its feet when it came to putting in a credible bid.

“With regional cities putting their hands up to host, Jay Weatherill and Leon Bignell have failed to do enough to stake Adelaide’s claim as a capital city host,” he said.

“After 15 years of Labor, we find ourselves at the bottom of the unemployment rate table, with the highest electricity prices, so it’s little wonder Labor hasn’t advanced Adelaide’s case to host the Commonwealth Games.”