Adelaide almost ‘Games-ready’ report finds, is preferred bidder for 2026 Commonwealth Games
Adelaide is in the box seat to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games as almost “Games-ready” and the preferred bidder — but the Marshall Government is yet to commit to a costings study.
Comm Games
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- APRIL: Govt investigating merits of Games bid
- JUNE: State Government begins formal talks about bid for 2026 Games
- AUGUST: Games delegation to meet with government officials
- SEPTEMBER: Games officials scout Adelaide sporting sites
Adelaide is in the box seat to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games — but the Marshall Government is yet to commit to a costings study.
A new report shows the Commonwealth Games Federation made a second trip to Adelaide in December, endorsing its existing infrastructure and hosting capabilities as almost “Games-ready”.
The Advertiser has been told that Adelaide is the Australian Commonwealth Games Association’s (ACGA) preferred city over Sydney and Perth to bid for the 2026 Games, with the 2022 event to be held in Birmingham, England, and the 2030 Games set to go to Canada.
An Office of Recreation and Sport paper outlining the pros and cons of hosting the Games has gone to Cabinet but the Government is yet to commit to a costings report that will ultimately decide whether it puts its hand up for the 12-day event.
Sports Minister Corey Wingard said the Government would continue to explore the possibility of hosting the Games but believed there was a “mountain to climb” to be ready by 2026.
An independent working party has been formed, including some of the state’s top business people, town planners and athletes such as Jess Trengove, Stuart O’Grady and Juliet Haslam to lobby support for a Games bid.
The group is also consulting former Mayo MP Jamie Briggs as a conduit for discussions at a federal level, which is critical to funding the Games.
ACGA chief executive Craig Phillips told The Advertiser this week that he wants the Games to return Down Under in 2026.
While he would not confirm Adelaide’s favouritism, he said the city had a “compelling” case if it wanted them.
“We’re exploring all options and are in talks with various state governments but I will say Adelaide offers a very compelling proposition,” Mr Phillips said.
“It has a very high concentration of venues within a 3km ring of the city — 80 to 85 per cent of venues are within this distance — and that does great things in terms of providing a festival and celebration of the Games.
“It also gives opportunities to promote active transport such as walking and cycle paths throughout the Games.
“It’s a great city for staging major events and engaging the community. We’ve seen that with the Tour Down Under and a number of festivals that are about to take place.”
An economic report by the Queensland Government into last year’s Gold Coast Commonwealth Games will be released later this month.
It is expected to detail a $2.5 billion boost to the state’s economy, of which $1.8 billion was injected directly into the Gold Coast.
The event attracted 1.3 million visitors and Queensland businesses were awarded $1.7 billion in contracts to help deliver the Games.
The cost of the Gold Coast Games has been estimated at $2 billion but that included significant infrastructure spending, including a new velodrome and an extension of light rail.
It’s understood the cost of Adelaide hosting the 2026 Games would be half that figure, given the minimal infrastructure spending required and major changes to the way the event is delivered.
The CGF is desperate for a more sustainable model to ensure the Games’ long-term survival and will partner with host cities to effectively co-ordinate security, volunteers, venue operations and ticketing marketing to reduce costs.
It met the State Government in Adelaide in September and returned in December to complete an audit, which, according to sources, found Adelaide very well placed to host the Games.
Up for discussion was a drop-in pool at the Entertainment Centre or Coopers Stadium that would create a Games hub to be serviced by the existing tramline and with an athletes’ village potentially at Bowden.
The $100 million aquatic centre at Marion does not have the seating capacity to host the biggest-drawing sport of the Games.
“The Commonwealth Games is a world-class event which attracts the best athletes from across the globe,” Mr Wingard said.
“But there is a mountain to climb if we are to be Games-ready by 2026. Preparations for necessary infrastructure for such events can take more than a decade.
“We will continue to explore the possibility of hosting the Games but we would need to be sure any proposal involving taxpayer funds would advance the reputation and the economic standing of the state.”
The CGF executive is set to return to the Gold Coast in May for Sport Accord — an international sporting and business summit — but will only visit Adelaide again if the state is serious about hosting the Games.
Bids for the 2026 Games are required by the end of this year, with an announcement on hosting rights to be made in 2020.
What the report found
AN audit by the Commonwealth Games Federation on infrastructure in Adelaide, Sydney and Perth has found SA well placed to host the 2026 Games with minimal spending.
The UK-based CGF visited Adelaide in September and December and believes the city would be capable of hosting the Games if it were keen.
It is believed the CGF was impressed with facilities at Coopers Stadium and the Entertainment Centre that would create a Games hub serviced by the existing tramline from the city.
A working party set up to lobby support for a Games bid includes business leaders and town planners, and has discussed a drop-in pool at either venue in Hindmarsh.
The $100 million SA Aquatic and Leisure Centre, Oaklands Park, would be used for diving but does not have the seating capacity to host the swimming.
Adelaide Oval remains the preferred location for athletics, where IAAF regulations require a full-sized warm-up track be accessible within 500m.
That would mean an athletics track would potentially be laid in the nearby parklands and then removed and rehoused to a community after the Games.
The Gepps Cross velodrome would require a facelift but changes are mostly cosmetic and some are already under way.
The working party has also discussed an athletes’ village at Bowden, Keswick or West Beach that would be sold as residential housing after the 12-day sporting event.
The state of play
■ Adelaide is the only mainland state capital city in Australia yet to host a Commonwealth Games.
■ Adelaide was beaten by Kuala Lumpur to stage the 1998 Games.
■ In 2008, the Rann Government withdrew from the race to host the 2018 Games after then-treasurer Kevin Foley labelled them “a B-grade event”.
■ A 2016 study by town planner David Cooke, named Short Term Games, Long Term Gains, found that hosting the Games in Adelaide and building the required infrastructure would cost about $2.6 billion and deliver an economic boost of about $4.4 billion, including creating 41,000 jobs, over a decade.
■ Then-premier Jay Weatherill in 2016 spruiked the former Labor state government’s intention to compete for the Games in 2030 but made little progress before last year’s election.
■ Bids for the 2026 Games need to be finalised by the end of this year.
■ An announcement on hosting rights for the 2026 Games will be made in 2020.
Commonwealth Games a race to win cash pot
Adelaide could reap the same economic benefits as the Gold Coast but for half the cost if it bids for the hosting rights of the Commonwealth Games in 2026.
Supporters of a Games tender hope an audit declaring the city largely games ready — as well as noting radical changes to the way the sporting event is delivered — will convince the State Government to investigate it seriously.
“It’s about the Games fitting the city not the city having to fit the Games,” Australian CGA chief executive Craig Phillips said.
He added that the global governing body, the Commonwealth Games Federation, through “CGF Partnerships would take responsibility for some of the Games delivery with management systems going from Games to Games”.
“Typically Games have been awarded seven years out but by necessity with what’s happened with Birmingham (2022), they’ve shortened the planning phase and are embedding know-how so the CGF has more skin in the game than it would have in the past.”
A legacy report by the Queensland Government into last year’s Gold Coast Games is expected to detail a $2.5 billion boost to the state’s economy.
The event attracted 1.3 million visitors and Queensland businesses were awarded $1.7 billion in contracts to help deliver the Games.
The total cost of the Games was estimated at $2 billion which involved significant investment in infrastructure to bring a large regional city up to speed.
It included a new velodrome and extending the light rail along the Coast.
SA Sports Minister Corey Wingard said SA was coming from a long way back but that the State Government was not ruling out hosting the games and rather was “continuing to explore the possibility”.
Mr Phillips said the CGF did not want cities to build new stadiums unless they had a long-term use for them.
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