Victoria's Minister for Tourism and Sport sets out Melbourne’s strength in hosting major events

Victoria Minister for Tourism and Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos has this morning set out the reasons why the Victorian Government continues to invest in attracting major sporting events and in facility infrastructure while constantly looking to target new audiences.

Praising Melbourne’s place as the nation’s “sporting capital” sporting infrastructure, Minister Dimopoulos spoke of the “festivalising” of major sporting events, explaining that “(this) means that people get to enjoy things the way they want to enjoy them around the major event … and that's why I think we get different outcomes.”

Minister Dimopoulos made the comments in his opening address at the SportNXT conference in Melbourne - on the eve of the season opening Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix and the day after the Victorian Government announced that Melbourne will host the first ever National Basketball Association (NBA) games to be played in Australia.

He commented “where we are right now, CENTREPIECE, this facility in itself can host 2,000 people in a cocktail reception arrangement, or about 1,200 people seated for a conference.

“We have the Rod Laver Arena, a 15,000 seat venue, where the Australian Open is played and where Jerry Seinfeld comes.

“Literally across the street we have AAMI Park with its 30,000 seat capacity, then the John Cain Arena with a 10,500 seat capacity (and the) Kia Arena and Margaret Court Arena and, across the pedestrian bridge, the biggest stadium in the country - and one of the biggest in the world - the MCG, 100,000 seats.

“In the middle, on the edges of this precinct, there are two major train stations. You can get off the platform of each of them, and walk, and be here in less than 10 minutes. And there's a tram line running right behind us here.

“And we don't have car parks. We're actually getting rid of more car parks that we have, some remaining car parks around the MCG, because they're just not needed.

“Capital investment in infrastructure makes the proposition of Melbourne extraordinarily compelling.”

“But infrastructure is only one part of the equation. People that show up are probably just as important, if not more important.”

Need to understand sovereign wealth funds
SportNXT has also heard former Socceroo Tim Cahill call for improved “understanding” surrounding the investment in sport by sovereign wealth funds.

Cahill, who has worked as a sports adviser in Qatar in recent years, suggested that those who question sovereign wealth funds investing in sport neglect the fact trade deals exist between Australia and countries like Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Responding to a question about sovereign wealth investment in sport, Cahill commented “we talk about business, we talk about governments, let’s talk about maybe government trade deals before we start talking about sponsorship.

“(It seems) trade deals with Saudi Arabia or Qatar and these countries are fine, but (sporting) sponsorships, not so,” he said.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade notes Qatar is a top-three trading partner for Australia in the Middle East and North Africa region, with two-way trade worth $3.4 billion in 2023. Trade with Saudi Arabia, “an important trading partner” according to the Dfat country brief, was valued at $2.07 billion in 2023/24.

Cahill was part of a panel on the state of sport alongside Netball Australia Chair Liz Ellis and former Chair of the Australian Sports Commission John Wylie.

Ellis suggested that “sport is held to a higher standard” in this debate.

Wylie criticised Australian Governments for providing funding for elite professional sports over the grassroots, with a focus on “votes” and “eyeballs”.

Wylie did not reference the role of local government in providing sporting infrastructure.