THE City of Greater Bendigo and the state government are locked in talks regarding the design and location of Bendigo's proposed Commonwealth Games athletes' village ahead of the 2026 event.
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The government says how the new infrastructure will be used beyond 2026 is central to its thinking.
Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Geelong will each develop an athletes' village for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, which will be hosted by regional Victoria.
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Acting premier Jacinta Allan met with City of Greater Bendigo staff on Thursday to discuss potential sites in Bendigo.
"We've identified a couple of sites and we are working with the City of Greater Bendigo (in relation to) this and other opportunities to partner with the city on games opportunities," she said.
"We've still got a bit of work to do in terms of site identification."
Bendigo mayor Andrea Metcalf said council staff were up for the work that came with hosting the 2026 Games.
"There is a lot of work to do and Bendigo council is certainly up for that work," she said.
"We really look forward to working closely with the state government on this project. It's a win-win for us.
"Every time there's an announcement on the Commonwealth Games, the excitement builds.
"We do know that when the Commonwealth Games are on that we would expect to have hundreds of thousands of visitors here to Bendigo."
Ms Allan said finding a location that could be built on quickly as well as ensuring the housing had a legacy beyond the Commonwealth Games was integral.
"One of the challenges that comes with hosting the 2026 Games is that we've got to have these villages built in just over three years," she said.
"So we will need to look at sites where the construction can be undertaken in a reasonably quick time. But also we've got to do this with an eye to what the legacy opportunities are from being able to build more homes. The villages will turn into an opportunity to add to Bendigo's housing stock.
"We know that there is real pressure on both the rental and the property market here in Bendigo and this is a good example of how we can see that there's a longer-term legacy benefit from having the Games in regional Victoria."
This week, Ms Allan confirmed the 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held between March 17 and 29 and that Bendigo Bowls Club would host the lawn bowls events.
She said hard work is happening behind the scenes to ensure regional Victoria is ready to welcome Commonwealth Games athletes.
"It's only 1349 days until the 2026 Commonwealth Games. We have a really short run up," Ms Allan said.
"Normally there's extra time, it's usually about an eight-year lead-in to hosting events like this. We do have a shorter timeframe because the opportunity came along at pretty short notice.
"We've been doing a lot of work already and I want to thank the City of Greater Bendigo for their work to date.
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"Bendigo is will be hosting and and welcoming athletes from around the Commonwealth who will be coming to live here in Bendigo for the duration of the Commonwealth Games. So Bendigo will absolutely be buzzing over that period of time."
With Easter weekend falling between April 3 and 6 in 2026 - the week after the games - both Ms Allan and Cr Metcalf recognised the potential in having Commonwealth Games crowds remain in Bendigo for the annual Easter fair.
"Looking at it as Regional Cities Victoria chair, I know that we're looking at how we can spread all those tourists around the area," she said.
"We're looking at opportunities so that all of the regions benefit from us having the games.
"Easter is so big in Bendigo. I think there's a real golden opportunity for us to keep visitors here in Bendigo."
Ms Allan said there had already been careful planning around some of Victoria's major annual events.
"It just does show that regional Victoria already has a really strong calendar of events and activities," she said.
"One of the great benefits to having an event like this is it's showcasing what we have to offer.
"Also, we'll need to work with the education sector on the term dates because we do want to maximize the opportunity for regional Victorians to make the most of this opportunity in their own backyard.
"We want to make the most of it which is why there will be a need to be some adjustments to the term dates as we indicated (on Wednesday)."
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