John MacDonald: Are we done now with the Commonwealth Games?

It is time for Christchurch to get real. 

To get real and accept that we will never host the Commonwealth Games. Never host them on our own, and not even bother trying to be part of any national bid to host them in the future. 

I’ve never shared Mayor Phil Mauger’s dream of getting the Games here again. His idea is based purely and simply on his rose-tinted memories of the ‘74 games here in Christchurch. 

But that was a different time, and I imagine he’s not enjoying reading this new report that has just been delivered by the city council’s tourism and economic development agency, ChristchurchNZ. 

To sum it up, the report says: We don’t know what it would cost to host the Games in Christchurch —but it would be a truckload. And there are other events we should be trying to get here instead— which would be cheaper and have much more of an economic impact. 

All this has ever been, is a pipedream of mayor Phil Mauger's. And good on ChristchurchNZ for coming to the conclusion that it has: that we need to move on.  

The reason, by the way, that I think we need to ditch the Games outright —as in hosting them ourselves and hosting them with other cities around the country— is because I think the Commonwealth Games will be history sooner rather than later. 

And I’m more than prepared to listen to the experts, which is what I’m hoping the council will do. 

It’s also what I need to do if ChristchurchNZ tells me that this idea I’ve got of getting Oasis over here to be the first band to perform at the new stadium when it opens in 2026 is a dud. 

For me, I probably just want to re-live my 20s. And Phil Mauger wants to re-live the time when he was a kid and watched the QE2 stadium being built across the road from his place, and his youthful memories of that golden age in Christchurch’s history. 

But we all have to move on. 

We also have to remember that Christchurch was left with a lot of debt after the ‘74 games, which wasn’t cleared until the Government chipped in with some money ahead of the 1990 Games in Auckland. Because that would’ve been a bad look if it hadn’t. 

So ‘74 wasn’t everything it’s cracked up to be. Just like the Commonwealth Games aren’t what some people still crack them up to be.  

Especially when we now know that there are other events that could cost way less and deliver more bang for buck. 

An example ChristchurchNZ talks about in its report is the opportunity for Christchurch to host the International Masters Games in 2030. They say this is a ‘live’ opportunity for us to host an international multi-sport, multi-day event - which could pump nearly $12 million into the local economy over a 10-day period. 

This is the stuff we need to focus on getting here. Not other nonsense, like the Commonwealth Games. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Canterbury Morning's Podcast with John McDonald
from News Talk ZB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
At his time, at his time for christ Church to
get real, to get real, and except that we will
never host the Commonwealth Games, never host them on our own.
And I'm going to go further and say that I
don't think we should even bother trying to be part
of any national bid to host them in the future either.

(00:35):
I've never shared Mayor Phil Major's dream of getting the
Games here again. His idea, well, it's based purely and simply,
and in fact, he says to himself, it's based purely
and simply on his rose tinted memories of the seventy
four Games here in Christchurch. But that was a different time,
and I imagine he's not enjoying reading this new report

(00:58):
that has just been delivered by the City Council's Tourism
and Economic Development Agency, christ Church in z It was
presented to councilors yesterday and our newsroom got a copy
of it last night, so we've been right through it
to sum it up in a sentence, want me to
do that? To sum it up in well a couple
of sentences. The report says We don't know what it
would cost to host the Games in christ Churish, but

(01:21):
it would be a truckload. And there are other events
we should be trying to get her instead, which would
be cheaper and have much more of an economic impact.
What more is there? Scary thing about all this is
that there were enough city councilors to vote in favor
of this report even being done in the first place. Shortly,

(01:43):
I'm going to talk to one counselor who wasn't behind it,
one councilor who didn't want christ Church gen Z spending
time and money looking into it, and a counselor who
very obviously knows a pipe dream when he sees one.
Because that's all this ever was and all it will
ever be. Although I thought that Lauren Aberhart from christ

(02:04):
Church gen Z when she was on with Mike this morning,
I thought she sounded like they aren't closing the door
completely on the Games. Maybe that's just being political, but
it's obvious that when the likes of Phil Major talk
about the Common Games, they have a very different version
in their heads than what future events are going to
be like. In fact, as Laurence said to Mike, no

(02:24):
one really knows what shape or form they're going to take.

Speaker 3 (02:27):
What we want to do, though, is make sure that
anything that we're investing in is long term and sustainable,
and that was really where we landed with the Commmalth Games.
They're reviewing the sustainability of their delivery model at the moment,
and so it's not really a good time for us
to be considering an old model of the Commonwealth Games
when they may have a completely new model in the future.

Speaker 2 (02:47):
So no idea what the game's going to look like.
Certainly nothing like that did back in nineteen seventy four
here in christ Church, and good on Christian Chance said,
good on the way for coming to the conclusion that
it has that we need to move on and get
over this idea of hosting the games here in our
own right, under our own steam. But by the way
that I think we need to ditch the games outright,

(03:10):
as in hosting themselves and co hosting with other cities
around the country. There reason I think that is because
I reckon the Commonwealth Games will be history sooner rather
than later, And unlike some city councilors the majority it was,
unlike them, I am more than prepared to listen to
the experts, which is what I'm hoping the council will do.

(03:34):
It's also what I need to do. And you might say, oh,
it's easy to poke your finger at counselors, but it's
also what I need to do. For example, if christ
Church gen Z tells me that this idea I've got
of getting Oasis over here to be the first band
to perform at the new stadium when it opens in
twenty twenty six, if they tell me that's a dud,
I have to listen to them, because for me, I
probably just want to relive my twenties. Just at film.

(03:56):
Major wants to relive the time when he was a
kid and watched the Q two stadium being built across
the road from his place, and he wants to relive
his youthful memories of that golden age in christ Church's history.
But we all have to move on, and if the
experts tell us to move on, we've got to listen
to them. Another reason I think we should forget about
the Games is that we have to remember that christ

(04:17):
Church was actually left with a lot of debt after
the seventy four Games, which wasn't cleared until the government
chipped in with some money ahead of the nineteen ninety
Games in Auckland. Wanted to do that, well, it would
have been a bad look. Got the games in nineteen ninety. Yeah,
but Christchurch saying, hold on a minute, we were still
oad money so seventy four. The seventy four Games weren't

(04:37):
everything they were cracked up to be, just like the
Commonwealth Games in general aren't what some people still crack
them up to be, especially when we now know that
there are other events that could cost way less and
deliver more bang for buck. An example, Christchurch and ZED
talks about in this report as the opportunity for Christchurch

(04:58):
to host the International Masters Games in twenty thirty. They say,
this is a live opportunity for us to host and
international mult sport multiday event and get this which could
pump nearly twelve million bucks into the local economy over
a ten day period. This is the stuff that we
need to focus on getting here, not other nonsense like

(05:20):
the Commonwealth Games.

Speaker 1 (05:22):
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