Gold Coast’s rival ‘no pushover’ – Aussie Games Chief

THE Gold Coast’s rival to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games, the little-known Sri Lankan city of Hambantota, will be “no pushover”, Australian Games chief Perry Crosswhite warned after both cities presented their bids in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

When it became apparent last year that the Gold Coast’s only competitor would be Hambantota, there was an assumption that the Queensland city would be an automatic choice, particularly in the wake of the troubles experienced by the last subcontinental host, Delhi, last year.

However, it has become increasingly apparent to the Australian bid officials that they are in a tough contest to claim the 2018 Games.

Crosswhite said Sri Lanka’s bid presentation to the Commonwealth Games Federation executive board yesterday was “spectacular, with lots of dancers”.

“It’s very much a government-based bid and underwritten by the government, which is building a future city (the port of Hambantota). The message was that you can trust the Sri Lankan government to deliver, and it was presented by the governor of their reserve bank.”

Meanwhile, the Gold Coast bid, led by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh, Gold Coast Mayor (and Olympian) Ron Clarke and bid chairman Mark Stockwell, promised a safe pair of hands with a well-planned and executed Games that will provide a model for other regional cities that might wish to bid.

Bid chief executive Mark Peters said it would take a great effort to win the Games.

“Our competitor in the bid is serious and it is time for all people on the Gold Coast to understand the importance of the Games to the future of the Gold Coast and get behind the bid,” he said.

The Gold Coast presentation proposed dates of April 4-15, a move partly calculated to overcome the reluctance of the leading track and field stars to extend their competition seasons into October, a difficulty Delhi experienced last year.

The April dates would also cause less disruption to the local football teams (AFL’s Suns and the NRL’s Titans) than dates later in the year which would have put their home grounds (Carrara Stadium and Skilled Park) off limits for most of the season as the city prepared for the Games.

The Gold Coast has also proposed a very similar sporting program to that held in the highly successful 2006 Melbourne Games.

It includes optional sports that are popular in Australia (cycling, triathlon, basketball) along with those that are followed in the wider Commonwealth (shooting, wrestling, table tennis) and should appeal to the delegates who will choose the host city.

CGF vice-president Prince Tunku Imran declared that the “race for the 2018 Games presents an intriguing choice for our members”.

The CGF general assembly will elect the 2018 host city on November 11 in St Kitts and Nevis. (The Australian)