Ballarat's mayor says he was "pleasantly surprised" to hear the Victorian premier tout the city as a potential host for 2026 Commonwealth Games events.
But like other regional mayors, Daniel Moloney is keen to ensure his city does not get left with white elephant infrastructure should the event go ahead.
During yesterday's announcement about Victoria's "exclusive negotiations" to host the 2026 Games, premier Daniel Andrews singled out Ballarat.
"There are some first-class facilities that are already there," the Premier said.
"Athletics, for instance, [could run] at the upgraded — but probably needs to be further upgraded — [Eureka Stadium]."
Cr Moloney said Ballarat would be interested in hosting multiple events including the opening and closing ceremonies.
"I would love it," Cr Moloney said.
"[But] if we're honest about who is currently ready to do that type of big activity it would be Geelong. Their Kardinia Park stadium is huge and would be ready to go.
"We would love to get up to speed really quickly and match Geelong, so hopefully that's something the government is actually thinking."
Going for gold
For many Victorian regional councils the excitement about the prospect of hosting Commonwealth Games events or international teams is tempered somewhat by the realities.
"All the councils need to catch up and talk with the sporting heads and the government," Cr Moloney said.
"A city like Ballarat has a population of 115,000 growing at a rate of nearly 3,000 a year. It needs to have good sustainable housing, so that's one thing to consider from an athlete lodging point of view.
"You've also got to consider the sporting needs and other infrastructure needs of a population that will quickly get beyond 150,000, in our case, having the right mix of the permanent infrastructure that leaves a positive legacy and supplement it with temporary stands and other things.
"It led to buildings being created in Ballarat that wouldn't otherwise wouldn't have existed.
"Our Civic Hall was built for that, there was a huge amount of infrastructure around Lake Wendouree that was adapted for a global audience."
Risk versus reward
Warrnambool mayor Richard Ziegeler said regional councils need to carefully consider what they can do and how the state government will help.
"Warrnambool's got an enormous amount to offer in terms of sporting facilities and the ability to organise huge sporting events," Cr Ziegeler said.
"Council would be open to talking about it, particularly if there's support from the government in financial and social terms to help us with new infrastructure.
"There's the enormous clean-up afterwards and imposition on the community beforehand, and that's the important stuff a council's got to consider before they commit to such an enormous thing."
But he said the south-west Victorian community would be more than up to the challenge.
"We've got wonderful facilities for a lot of different sports," Cr Ziegeler said.
"If we go down that track, it just cements our place as a town that can organise big international events.
