Fed: Gold Coast to take on Sri Lanka for Com18 Games

AAP General News (Australia)
04-01-2010
Fed: Gold Coast to take on Sri Lanka for Com18 Games

By Tony Bartlett and Steve Gray

GOLD COAST, April 1 AAP - Gold Coast mayor and Olympian Ron Clarke says Sri Lanka's
decision to bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games could play right into Australia's court.

The Nigerian city of Abuja failed to lodge its expected bid by the deadline of March
31, leaving the Gold Coast to compete against the obscure Sri Lankan region of Hambantota.

Hambantota is located on the south coast of Sri Lanka and has a population of around 500,000.

It is building a 25,000-seat international cricket stadium as the host of two 2011
Cricket World Cup matches.

Mr Clarke said no one had anticipated a bid from Sri Lanka.

"It still means there's a bidding contest and you really have to take everybody seriously,"

he said.

"No doubt they've done their sums and they know that they've got some support, but
you wonder because normally they rotate around areas and it's going to be New Delhi in
a few months' time.

"So you have virtually the same area bidding for the 2018 Games.

"I wouldn't say I'd rather be bidding against Sri Lanka than anyone else, but I'll
be interested in looking at the details of their proposal."

Mr Clarke said he was confident of the strength of the $1 billion Gold Coast bid.

CEO of the Australian Commonwealth Games Federation, Perry Crosswhite, said Sri Lanka
would put up a competitive proposal against the Gold Coast bid.

"We certainly welcome the bid by Sri Lanka and it's disappointing about Nigeria," Mr
Crosswhite said.

"Nigeria's a very strong sports nation and I don't know why they didn't bid in the
end, but there's reports of some unrest there, certainly political unrest.

"Sri Lanka is a strong sports-loving nation, just look at the cricket and some of the
other various events.

"They're going to put a good bid up."

Nigerian news service Next reported the country's acting president Goodluck Jonathan
had removed national sports commission chairman Sani Ndanusa from his position and pulled
his country out of the Commonwealth Games Federation.

Confirmation was being sought from the CGF and the Nigerian High Commission in Canberra.

Mr Crosswhite said the Sri Lankan government was developing Hambantota as a sports hub.

"I've no doubt they're on a mission that will certainly test us, for sure," he said.

The Gold Coast's formal bid was signed by Australian Commonwealth Games Association
president Sam Coffa, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh and Mr Clarke on Wednesday.

The state government will spend $11 million on its bid and invest more than $1 billion
in infrastructure over the next eight years, including an upgraded aquatic centre, new
velodrome and athletes' village.

The winning bid will be announced in November 2011.

Melbourne was the last Australian host of the Games in 2006.

The next Games are in Delhi in October this year and Glasgow in 2014.

AAP bart/pjo/ht/de

KEYWORD: COM18 WRAP

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