Huge sporting events come with substantial public investment in housing. After Melbourne hosted the 1956 Olympics, about 600 houses in the athlete village became public housing in West Heidelberg. After Melbourne hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games, the athlete village in Parkville was largely sold off, with 320 houses going to social housing.
Victoria’s now cancelled 2026 Commonwealth Games were meant to have the same effect in the state’s smaller cities. New dwellings were intended to help boost social and private housing supply amid the ongoing housing crisis. Ironically, the broader housing crisis may have contributed to the cancellation, as worker shortages and building material price spikes took their toll.
