LIAM DURKIN
By LIAM DURKIN
MUCH like the Canned Heat song, it appears the Commonwealth Games might be going up the country.
With Victoria emerging as the front runner in a seemingly one-horse race to be Australia’s bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, there is a groundswell of support for regional areas to be included in the games’ official programming.
Latrobe City has been slated as one municipality of potential, along with other major regional Victorian centres such as Shepparton, Bendigo, Ballarat and Warrnambool.
Latrobe City has no shortage of high-quality sporting infrastructure, with facilities like the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium and Gippsland Regional Aquatic Centre both of
professional standard.
As far as Latrobe City Mayor Kellie O’Callaghan is concerned, the region is ready to host Commonwealth Games events if called upon.
“If there is a chance for us to
host significant scale sporting events here in Latrobe we would be very open to it,” Cr O’Callaghan told
The Express.
“These opportunities don’t come along very often. International level sport in Latrobe is something we know the community would absolutely love and we now have the capacity with the facilities that we’ve got.
“Whether it is the pools at GRAC, whether it is the international-standard stadiums that we now have in place
particularly with the Gippsland Regional Indoor Sports Stadium in Traralgon, we’ve had some fantastic basketball games there so far and we have some netball heading our way, but there is any number of sports that could utilise that facility and certainly the full size FIFA pitch at Latrobe City Sport and Entertainment Stadium would allow us that opportunity as well.
“Also just our gyms for any of their strength and conditioning training, and wouldn’t it be fantastic to see all the bikes up at Haunted Hills Mountain Bike Park if there is an opportunity to host people up there too?
“I think we would be in a very good position to be able to host and I have absolutely no doubt that the community would not only welcome it, but fundamentally embrace all of the opportunity it would create for us.”
While there are still a number of pins to fall, Cr O’Callaghan said Latrobe City Council would keep doing its preparedness in creating a pathway for being able to participate in the Games.
Member for Morwell Russell Northe said the region had already proven it was capable of hosting Commonwealth Games events.
“Back in 2006 when the Commonwealth Games were held in Victoria, Traralgon Basketball Stadium hosted some games and they were an incredible success,” he said.
“The Commonwealth Games has a variety of sports that could be held in our region, everything from archery to bowls to basketball.
“Archery is maybe a sport that flies under the radar but we have Twin City Archers in Morwell which has hosted state, national and international events over time, there is no reason with the right investment that we could have archery events at the Commonwealth Games as one example.”
Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester also threw his support behind the proposal, but with a few conditions.
“I would only support Melbourne hosting the Commonwealth Games if the state and federal governments agreed that at least 30 per cent of the events, training, and benefits from the Games would flow to regional areas like Gippsland,” he said.
“The Commonwealth Games showcase some of the world’s best athletes and the opportunity to host it regionally would provide benefits for many years to come.”
A 13-person taskforce, which includes former Australian Opals captain Lauren Jackson and Hawthorn footballer Nick Holland, has been established under the banner of ‘Greater Victoria Commonwealth Games Bid’.
