ChristTwurch's Mayoral 2026 "We can Do This"

[nztx]

https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/132570...il-mauger-says

Christchurch should host Commonwealth Games, mayor Phil Mauger says

Christchurch mayor Phil Mauger says the city and New Zealand should share hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games after the Australian state of Victoria pulled out due to ballooning costs.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday that the state was withdrawing its bid after the cost spiralled from A$2.6 billion to at least A$6b (NZ$6.5b), blindsiding sporting authorities.

In an interview with Chris Lynch Media, Mauger said Christchurch already had lots of facilities to enable it to host the Games in three years, and that the city’s stadium and controversial Metro Sports facility would be finished by then.

He suggested Christchurch could “share the love” around the country, and that rowing and cycling could be held in Cambridge or Invercargill.

Asked where Christchurch would get the sort of money that Andrews baulked at, Mauger told Chris Lynch: “He (Andrews) is going to build a lot of stuff.

“I wouldn’t say we have got $6b of stuff here, but we have got everything we need to be able to do it if we share it around.”

Pressed on where the city might get the money it would need to host the Games, the mayor said it wouldn’t need any, as “all the stuff’s already built”.

But the committee’s chief executive Nicki Nicol has already ruled out New Zealand being a replacement for the 2026 Games.

Christchurch’s new $683 million stadium, Te Kaha, is currently on schedule and set to open in April 2026, leaving little wriggle room for delays.

The Parakiore Metro Sports facility has been beset by problems, including cost blowouts and a company working on it going into liquidation.

The centre was initially set to be completed in late 2021 and cost $301m, but is now expected to be completed in spring 2024 and open in early 2025 at a cost of at least $317m.

The facility will have a 10-lane, 50m pool with 1000 seats for spectators, a diving pool, five hydroslides, and several indoor courts for various sports.

Meanwhile out on the CHCH Streets - plenty of former Quake affected would really like a huge Rates Rise to help accelerate things alone and skyrocket their rates well north of Auckland County levels ... just so the ChristTwurch Mayor can play some Look See games earlier - wouldn't they or maybe not ?


God loves a trier .. or was that a trying Mayor who wanted to try some earlier "We can Do this" before time ?

[Balance]

The Games need to go back to basics - use existing facilities and some special purpose built accommodation units which can then be used for housing.

Otherwise the Games are going to die and that would be a tragedy for commonwealth athletics.

[Blue Skies]

The Games need to go back to basics - use existing facilities and some special purpose built accommodation units which can then be used for housing.

Otherwise the Games are going to die and that would be a tragedy for commonwealth athletics.

Exactly. Just heard Phil Gifford on RNZ commenting the Victoria State politicians over reached, had these grandiose ideas, instead of using existing facilities (there already is an Olympic size pool) they were going to build 2 new pools & new velodromes etc in different parts of the State & demolish some of them after the games, i.e. over ambitious plans using the Games to boost growth into different parts of the State, without realising it would cost about 3X as much as the original budget.

After the lessons of Durban pulling out due to the costs of hosting the Games becoming prohibitive, politicians ambitions need to be scaled back.
And Birmingham which stepped in at short notice using a lot of existing facilities was a fantastic Games.