Athletes' villages like Bendigo's delivered the biggest cost blowouts to Commonwealth Games organisers.
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Newly released costings suggest all four host city's athletes' villages blew out far beyond the governments' original worst case estimates.
They had reached just over one billion dollars by July, shortly before the Games were cancelled.
That was four times the original worst case estimate of $250 million.
The Advertiser is seeking more information about Flora Hill's proposed athletes' village and will update this story as our journalists learn more.
The Games shock cancellation in July left Bendigo groups and businesses reeling.
The government has promised to keep building permanent competition venues but it was not clear at the time what the cancellation would mean for Bendigo's athletes village site.
A note in the costings suggests Ballarat was worrying Games organisers in particular.
It suggests strict conditions about athletes' village locations meant there was limited land that would tick boxes.
Requirements for housing after the games and limits on Ballarat land suitable for permanent homes was causing issues, according to the costings.
Both issues meant "it was necessary to shift to building a high proportion of temporary demountable structures, which significantly reduced any potential private sector interest", the costings document says.
"Market soundings have also indicated cost escalation would further increase the required budget."
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Athletes villages across all four sites were originally meant to include a mixture of private housing and social and affordable housing.
The Advertiser is yet to confirm whether anyone had settled on the exact mix for Bendigo's village but early estimates were for somewhere between 20 and 30 per cent social or affordable housing.
The government's office of the Commonwealth Games was expecting costs to blow out beyond earlier predictions for general operations, temporary overlays, transport costs, police and security and in contingency funds.
Other cost pressures
It blamed the potential $2 billion blowout on compressed timelines, regional supply constraints and inflation.
The office also warned that accommodation shortfalls in the regions would increase sports and that there could be "major sporting code displacement costs".
Victoria agreed late on Friday night (August 19, 2023) to pay $380 million to Commonwealth Games parties.
They also agreed the multi-hub regional model including Bendigo was more expensive to host than traditional methods.
Both groups are legally bound not to speak further on details of the settlement.
More to come.
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Tom O'Callaghan
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
I grew up in Bendigo and I want to tell your stories.
