Mildura will be ready to host sport events if Victoria secures 2026 Commonwealth Games

With speculation mounting over Melbourne and regional Victoria hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Mildura Mayor Liam Wood looks forward to the possibility of the region hosting events as part of the Games.

Two decades after the last Melbourne Commonwealth Games, Victoria is emerging as a frontrunner to host the 2026 event with governments in Western Australia, South Australia, and New South Wales having already flagged they would not be proceeding with bids. Queensland has already hosted the event in 2018 and will be preparing for the 2032 Olympic Games by 2026.

Mildura was part of a proposed regional cities bid led by Greater Shepparton City Council in 2017 to see several 2030 Commonwealth Games events hosted in 11 regional cities if Melbourne secured the Games.

Recent changes to Commonwealth Games scheduling has opened the window for a city to host the 2026 event.

Mayor Wood said if the Victorian Government put in a bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, it could pave the way for the ‘regional cities’ model to be revisited and advised that Mildura is “in a much stronger position now than we were when those initial talks were held in 2017.

“We now have a national-standard regional sporting facility equipped to host any number of Commonwealth Games events, and with Stage 2 of the Mildura Sporting Precinct set to be completed in the next 12 months, we’ll be even better prepared to host a broader range of sporting events.

“This, along with our city’s proven ability to host tens of thousands of visitors, and our busy airport, would make us an attractive proposition as part of any regional cities model, and the huge economic and tourism benefits it would bring to our region.

“I look forward to continuing to work closely with our regional cities partners to lobby for Commonwealth Games events to be held in the regions.”

The Mildura Sporting Precinct (formerly known as the Mildura South Regional Sporting Precinct) will, for the first time, provide a central home for a number of indoor sporting user groups in the district. These groups generate the equivalent of an estimated 200,000 venue visitations each year. The business case for this facility shows it will provide a venue for major events including concerts and regional and national sporting events. The Precinct will also accommodate the need for community open space and passive leisure activities in the Mildura South area - one of the region’s main residential growth corridors. The Precinct will also include a café to cater for users of the sporting facilities and local residents.

This initiative is part of the Mildura Future Ready strategy.

Construction of the precinct's first stage was completed on 30th July 2021 and is located on the corner of Deakin Avenue and Sixteenth Street. Funding to complete Stage 2 of construction was secured in the Victorian Budget 2021-22.

Image: Mildura sporting precinct