Would the economics of the event, launching in Sydney and Auckland tonight, have stacked up?
For any major sporting event to be deemed successful – beyond the big splash of staging it – there must be lasting economic and social benefits shared across the community.
Andrews’ sudden cancellation of the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday came as a shock to many. He claimed costs had blown out to as much as $7 billion rather than the $2-3 billion originally anticipated. As the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games cost about $1.5 billion and Birmingham’s $1.7 billion, how did Andrews arrive at $7 billion? Was it because he insisted it would be in the regions, not Melbourne, so they needed new infrastructure? Or was it because they were spreading the cost of security across several towns? It seems a bit of a mystery.
But should we really be shocked? From the Olympic Games to the financing of a local footy stadium in Tasmania (a bargain at $715 million, by the way), the economics of sport has become controversial.
Read Tim Harcourt’s full story on the Sydney Morning Herald.