It was an audacious bid by Tasmania to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, but it never really hit its full stride, with Victoria now confirmed as the most likely winner.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed his government is in exclusive negotiations with the Commonwealth Games' organising body.
It will be, primarily, an event hosted by regional Victoria.
Last week, Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein wrote to the chief executive of Commonwealth Games Australia, Craig Phillips, formally requesting that Tasmania be given consideration as a host for the event.
Tasmanian Premier 'disappointed'
Mr Gutwein is not happy with the latest development.
"I was a little disappointed in the way Commonwealth Games Australia dealt with this," he said.
"The first I heard that they were exclusively dealing with Victoria was through the media."
No Games means no upgrades
It was a bold plan to bring the athletic showpiece to Tasmania, but it never really got off the ground.
Swimming Tasmania chief executive Jamie McIntyre said the development was a blow to the sport in Tasmania.
"It's disappointing in the sense for our local athletes having a chance to swim in their home state at a Commonwealth Games," he said.
"The biggest reaction for us is that we're probably going to miss out on a new aquatic centre because part of being able to host that sort of games [is] we'd need a 10-lane pool.
"Hobart only having eight and Launceston having eight lanes really would have opened us up to having a new centre, which would have been fantastic for the sport moving forward."
Tasmanian Olympic middle-distance runner Stewart McSweyn said he was also disappointed.
"I think having a local Commonwealth Games would be something that I probably didn't think I'd ever see in my career. So, unfortunately, it doesn't look like happening.
"Hopefully, it still means Tassie's on the radar for maybe future events in the upcoming years."
Robert Ballard — the Tasmanian Institute of Sport's athletics performance adviser and a 1990 Commonwealth Games representative — said having the Games in Australia was still a great opportunity for athletes.
"Having the Commonwealth Games in your own country, in your own nation, is a really significant bonus for you to excel and achieve," he said.
"It's about wearing the colours of your nation and doing the best you can achieve."
He is not surprised that Tasmania looks set to miss out.
"Melbourne has already hosted the Commonwealth Games. They have all the infrastructure already there and it's a massive commitment and time to put those things in place," he said.
Could Victoria co-host with Tasmania?
Joining forces with Victoria to host some events could still be an option.
"I have always said that we should be aspirational and I think we offer some great co-hosting options," Mr Gutwein said.
"I need to understand exactly what Commonwealth Games Australia's current position is."
The State Government has a meeting with Commonwealth Games Australia later this week.
Meanwhile, the executive officer of Athletics Tasmania, Glenn Turner, said it was unlikely the state could co-host athletics events because of the upgrades needed, but other sports could.
"Tasmania probably has an opportunity to reach out to Victoria and see if there's any particular sports that we could host," he said.
"For example, rowing with Lake Barrington being a world-class international event site, cycling could be another one."
Hosting rights come at a cost
The cost of staging the Games would have been in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The 2022 Games will be held later this year in Birmingham in the English midlands after Durban in South Africa was stripped of the hosting rights in 2017 over a lack of progress.
Birmingham had been scheduled to host the 2026 event, but was called on to accelerate preparation in order to deliver the games this year, leaving 2026 vacant.
