New Comm Games build worth up to $50m being lined up

The council is set to appoint a principal design consultant for the $20-50 million infrastructure project, which is among the first to have a price tag put on it.

Advance notice of tenders was announced last week, with the process set to start as soon as March 31.

The Bendigo Advertiser understands it could be a major competition venue for the 2026 Games.

The price range suggests a big project along the lines of Kangaroo Flat's indoor pool Gurri Wanyarra, which cost $31 million and included multiple pools, a gym and up-to-date facilities.

Exact details on the mystery Games build are still scant but there are already a host of likely candidates including the Bendigo Bowls Club, the Bendigo Showgrounds or Red Energy Arena.

All are earmarked to host events and sports officials have been on scouting missions in the past 12 months as part of early preparations for the Games.

Red Energy Arena will host the biggest event on Bendigo's Games calendar: the netball competition in which Australia will defend its 2022 gold medal.

Games organisers are yet to reveal the extent of any upgrades needed at that venue, or at the Bendigo Bowls Club, which will host hundreds of lawn bowler and para lawn bowlers.

Organisers have given more details about plans for the Bendigo Showgrounds, where they want to create a custom table-tennis facility and a mammoth temporary indoor velodrome.

They have also confirmed they have been considering a temporary Bendigo facility to host the squash program and the city will host both 3X3 basketball and 3X3 wheelchair basketball.

Whoever secures the design contract will likely be working closely with state government department Development Victoria, which is doing much of the grunt work on major builds across host cities Bendigo, Ballarat, Geelong, Morwell and Shepparton.

Development Victoria is spearheading the search for the mystery build's designers and wants them to start in June or July.

It wants someone who can shepherd the entire design process for the build and wrangle a host of sub-consultants who can advise on everything from general building engineering advice to more specialist services like wind engineering, arborists and facades.

The expressions of interest process will likely play out over April.

Development Victoria will then ask some candidates back for a "request for proposal" stage over May and June.

The mystery project is also significant for another reason.

It is among the first Bendigo Games projects to have a publicly released cost-estimate, however vague.

Until now, organisers have been reluctant to publicly provide even indicative costs.

That is largely because they launched themselves into planning a year ago from a standing start, after the Victorian government decided it could get a Games ready in half the time it would normally have for an event of such a scale.

They are filling a void created when the South African city of Durban lost the right to host a Games due to missed deadlines and financial difficulties.

Note: This story was corrected at 9.20pm to clarify that 3X3 basketball's venue has not yet been announced.

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