Victoria to axe Commonwealth Games plans due to financial concerns
3 years ago by MortyMcFry 🇦🇺 to c/melbourne
Before this it was all about how much money was being wasted on the games. Now the goal posts are just moved.
At least we know this is better for the state.
We must be pretty solid in our collective opinion in Victoria considering we keep electing a set of parties the media in this country are obviously and demonstrably biased against, hey.
The difference in coverage compared to what Gladys has gotten (who was found to be corrupt), is startling.
With audio recordings of the corruption.
I agree it's probably the right thing to not host, especially given the ROI is bad (at least according to some other states...)
But even though I think it's a good thing, it is an embarrassment.
Announcing that you're going to host, putting money / effort state-wide into preparing, and then dropping it is embarrassing. It sends a message that you can't adequately plan for large events, and that your commitments aren't worth much. I can't really blame the opposition for trying to make some hay from it.
As a Brisbanite, this makes me wonder...what are the conditions of the contract with the Commonwealth Games, and how do they compare to the Olympic Games? Would it be this simple for a future Brisbane Council/Qld Government to decide to axe the Brisbane Olympics?
Brisbane won the Olympics on an everything-is-already-built-so-no-blow-out-in-cost-likely campaign, and they were basically the only credible bid so got it with no contest. I think the Gabba is being upgraded because it was due for a face-lift anyway. Something like that - bris olympics is different situation.
And I think Bris Olympics only lacks accommodation facilities which will be built, then those apartments will very much help with the housing crisis after Olympics, so it all works and helps the city in the long run.
And pretty large satellite cities share the load, Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, is a point of difference also.
Thats's my vague understanding, but don't quote me.
That was definitely how it was sold, for sure. It seems to be rather less true in practice than it actually was stated, though. Among the works being done:
- A complete rebuild of the Gabba. Not a "face-lift", but a complete demolition and rebuild.
- The school near the Gabba to be completely shut down to make way for an athletics warmup track, with its "replacement" to be located in a completely different catchment area
- The new final form of the planned Victoria Park/Barrambin upgrades to be delayed by essentially half a decade or more to allow for the BMX and cross-country equestrian
- A few other new or upgraded venues that are, at least in my opinion, much less controversial because they're not big-ticket items and will easily be much-used by their sporting community post-Olympics.
I'm actually pretty pro-Olympics in general, especially compared to the majority of the Brisbane threddiverse, but these specifically are problems that do bug me.
The Olympic Committee specifically asked for bids that emphasized no-budget-blowouts due to many previous Olympics essentially bankrupting cities and the bad rep that was causing to the Olympics brand, and Brisbane's bid was the only one that stacked up to scrutiny, is what I understand. So at least it wasn't just politicians by themselves blowing smoke up are collective arses for a change - there was some kind of scrutiny.
I think the Gabba is a special case. They have been wanting to expand/fix the Gabba district for ages - the two 4-lane roads on either side that the back of the stands over-hang has been a problem forever. Olympics has given them a chance to fix the whole thing, link it up with the river better. They put in the bus tunnels to fix access fairly recently. Adelaide Oval had similar growing pains - that stadium put in large sail structures back in the 2000's that were completely redone only 5 or 10 years later. The Gabba is a signature bit of infrastructure in the inner city worth doing - they will probably use it for big concerts and so on. The whole of the inner Brisbane city is coming along nicely, Southbank and bikeway upgrades and bridges, docks - it's getting there.
The Olympics aren't the Commonwealth games, it's a global audience - think commonwealth games + china, north and south america, the rest of Europe. And Brisbane is an obscure city on the world stage, but has amazing weather and natural tourists attraction, theme parks - I think Brisbane will get value for money, put it on the map.
The Olympic Committee specifically asked for bids that emphasized no-budget-blowouts due to many previous Olympics essentially bankrupting cities and the bad rep that was causing to the Olympics brand
That's true, but the criticism from people opposed to the Olympics is that this was purely a PR exercise and that in reality there's no serious effort being made to avoid budget blowouts and huge spectacle just like previous Olympics.
Personally, I think this aspect is somewhere in the middle. It's not going to blow out as much as past Olympics have, but nor is it being done up to the best hopes people had when hearing the intent of a lower-impact Olympics.
and Brisbane’s bid was the only one that stacked up to scrutiny
I think Brisbane was the only one that really even tried to put in a serious bid. Nobody else really wanted to.
I think the Gabba is a special case. They have been wanting to expand/fix the Gabba district for ages
Definitely true. But I'm not sure people were expecting a complete demolition and rebuild, followed by more major refurbishments post-Olympics. Is the entire rebuild necessary regardless of the Olympics? I don't know enough about stadia to say.
the two 4-lane roads on either side that the back of the stands over-hang has been a problem forever
True, but I don't think there are really plans to fix this. The new rail (CRR) and bus (Metro) options are nice, but the whole area could use some major road dieting too, and as far as I'm aware that's not on the cards.
link it up with the river better
Unfortunately without that road dieting, walking and cycling are still not going to be very appealing options from the Gabba. It's certainly possible to link up with the river currently, but it's not pleasant, and none of the proposed changes I've heard of will change that. I will be very happy to be wrong there though.
they will probably use it for big concerts and so on
RIP Taylor Swift fans.
and natural tourists attraction
For sure. I could not agree more with former Councillor Jonathan Sriranganathan when he says "we should start by recognising that we are already Australia’s greenest major city. This is a key strength we could build upon as the world’s eyes turn towards us." (while I disagree with his stance that we should simply not have the Olympics at all). Our greenery and wildlife should be what Brisbane leans into in creating its "brand" for the Olympics.
I feel like the Olympics are more complicated. That is a world event and commonwealth is just the British empire
As someone originally from rural Victoria, I get it if it's going to be that much more expensive.
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@aussie.zone
This community is a place created for the people of Melbourne and Victoria. We are a positive, welcoming and inclusive community. We might not agree about everything, but we always strive to stay civil and respectful.
The focus of our discussions is based around things that affect Victoria, but we are also free to discuss our local perspective on wider issues. Or head to the regular Daily Random Discussion thread to talk about anything.
Ongoing discussions, FAQs & Resources (still under construction)
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I'm reading lots of headlines saying thst this is an embarrassment. However almost everyone at my work, here & on reddit seem really happy the the commonwealth games have been cancelled.
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