Shepparton’s Commonwealth Games bid left us behind

MILDURA was always an afterthought in plans to bring the 2030 Commonwealth Games to regional Victoria.

Until the bid was made public in April 2017, Mildura Council wasn’t aware of it.

• Mildura not likely to have active 2030 Commonwealth Games role

A suggested list of venues published at the time didn’t even have Mildura hosting an official sport, only a “test event”.

Managed by Greater Shepparton City Council and chaired by a PR man, the bid was successful in terms of directing a bit of attention Shepparton’s way.

But it has since failed to live up to the substance that was being promised – to “turbocharge a regional jobs and economic boom”, as one news report put it.

To be fair, the idea copped some scepticism that maybe was unwarranted.

Why shouldn’t an event of this scale be brought to the regions?

The benefits of Victoria’s obsession with hosting major events – tourism, infrastructure upgrades, boosting civic pride – shouldn’t be limited to Melbourne.

Plus, a successful bid would only have enhanced the business case for a host of projects like the Mildura South sports precinct.

But since the initial noise 2½ years ago, things have gone very quiet.

“Greater Victoria 2030” doesn’t feature prominently in the reporting of potential event hosts by insidethegames.biz, a website dedicated to covering the business of major global sporting events.

Hamilton in Canada, which hosted the inaugural 1930 British Empire Games, would appear to have the strongest claims.

Now we have the comments of a former sports minister and Mildura’s sports councillor casting further doubt on whether such an event could make its way up the Calder Highway.

Mildura Council stepped up to play its role with $6000, when other councils – including some that were poised to figure more prominently in the bid – baulked.

But, like the athlete who trained hard only to fall short of qualifying, we’re likely to be watching the 2030 Games from the couch.