Prime Minister John Key has confirmed the Government will not
be backing Auckland's bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth
Games.
Mr Key said the issue was not the cost of the bid but how
much it would cost to run the event. He said New Zealand
faced a $600 million loss, even taking account of benefits
such as increased tourism, if it was to go ahead.
"It's very, very expensive and we can't see the economic pay
back... The economic loss was so great that we couldn't
justify it." He accepted events often ran at a loss but the
money in this case was largely operating costs without
investing in new stadia or other long-lasting benefits.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully declined to comment until he
met officials.
NZPA sought an estimate of the cost from the New Zealand
Olympic Committee (NZOC) of making the bid and of actually
hosting the games but it has not yet been provided figures.
The Queensland bid for the 2018 games is expected to cost
$14m. This year's Commonwealth Games in India will cost $2
billion.
The Government last year provided money to assess Auckland's
ability to host the Commonwealth Games.
The $325,000 feasibility assessment was commissioned by the
NZOC and was funded by New Zealand Major Events, a unit of
the Ministry of Economic Development, along with government
sport funding agency Sparc and Auckland councils.
Bookmark/Search this post with:
A name, residential address, and (preferably residential) telephone number is required from readers who comment on ODT Online. These details will not be visible to site visitors.