SUSTAINABILITY FOCUS ENSURES GAMES VENUE LEGACY
By Olivia Birkett -
lian Rules Football stadium, and a community sports hall all have in common? These were some of the 17 world class venues at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. As an attendee of the Commonwealth Games Observer Programme, designed for poten- tial host cities, I was able to gain insight into the complexity of the Venue Master Plan for an international, multi-sport event. Venues underpin the structure of an event. They are the back- bone and the stage for sporting excellence. Venues cost host cities a large percentage of their total budget, therefore it is critical to optimise their impact for Games time and beyond, guarding against the long-term risk of “white elephants.” So how did the Gold Coast do it, and what is the legacy of the 2018 Commonwealth Games? Venues can drive a city’s desire to bid for major events. Major sta-
dia world-wide are being built with an understanding that one day they could host a Commonwealth or Olympic Opening Ceremony. Once the enthusiasm for a bid gains momentum, there needs to be careful examination of what are the requirements for venues. The as a range of optional sports that a candidate city may select, with a limit of no more than four team sports in this mix, and each sport has a minimum spectator capacity. Using swimming as an example, the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre
was proposed to increase the minimum number of spectator seats organisers anticipating every session would sell out. The optional sport of diving was also incorporated into the Aquatic Centre, again due to the popularity and legacy of the sport in the host city. The bid phase is the time to study the city’s future indoor venue needs and understand the current demand for sports. Gold Coast decided to build three new sports venues to host the Commonwealth Games, repurposing two of them post games. Coomera Indoor and Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre (badminton, powerlifting, weightlifting, and wrestling) are now large community competition and elite training venues for other sports including basketball, net- ball, and squash. Dreaming up what competition would look like in venues that
were not purpose built for the sport was best highlighted at the state- The return on investment for these venues has already come in the - lion AUD. studios enabled Commonwealth Games boxing, squash, and table tennis to be played. Early engagement with sports technical del- egates was essential, and the power struggle between venues and sports is often evident in these temporary venues. Beyond getting the and table tennis use such light shuttles and balls that a heavy air con system can detrimentally impact elite players. At all times during the
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planning for venues, the athletes’ needs and sports technical obliga- tions must be considered.
Once the main competition and training venues have been es-
tablished, they are ideally clustered together in precincts and linked up via transport. Whilst many of our big stadiums and arenas have established public transport networks, in a multi-sport environment, the use of smaller and temporary venues may not be serviced ad- equately. Gold Coast decided to include beach volleyball at Cool- angatta Beachfront post bid. The iconic destination was outside of the CBD area, therefore special bus transfers were required to ferry athletes securely “bubble to bubble” from the village to venue, plus moving workforce and spectators. For venues being used, it’s not just the 12 days of the Common-
wealth Games or other competition to consider, but also the months of pre-games mode and then bump out to factor in. There is a need - frastructure for spectator services and transport to be overlayed. The “red line” for the security perimeter is vast and increases the normal potentially closes roads and public spaces. A unique aspect of the Commonwealth Games is the integration of the para sports pro- gram. The requirements for venues therefore need to be fully acces- sible, provide storage for extra equipment, and allow for adequate change room space. The smaller venues on the Gold Coast were taken over under contract for upwards of six months for less than 10 days of compe- tition. This causes disruption to local sports clubs and the general public who enjoy these facilities on a daily basis. The Gold Coast Suns professional Australian Rules Football club were relocated for many months and four of their home games were played away. Financial compensation and an upgrade to their training facilities were part of this deal. Once the dazzle of the Games is over, bump out completed and
venues moving back to business as usual, what is the legacy of a major sporting event? Gold Coast has now enhanced its reputation as a regional city that is able to host world class events. It has been the city’s economy, provide job opportunities and continue to make use of the new and upgraded venues. The temporary squash courts dropped into Oxenford Studios have now been relocated to the Car- rara Indoor Sports Centre, making it the National Squash Centre. The two Mondo athletic tracks (competition and warmup) were part of a Reuse Grants Program, where sections of the track would be installed for long jump, or high jump areas in local schools and sports clubs. The vision of this legacy started back in the bid phase to ensure venues and their infrastructure were future-proofed and sustainable. It costs billions of dollars to host a Commonwealth or Olympic Games, and the Gold Coast blueprint with its innovative venue planning and integration should act as a case study for all future Games
bids.FM
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