The Government is expected to decide this week whether it will back Auckland's bid to host the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
An announcement is likely after Sports Minister Murray McCully meets officials and promoters today or tomorrow.
Prime Minister John Key was asked yesterday about rumours that the decision had already been made and the Government's wasn't going to back the bid.
He said there had been a brief discussion at yesterday's cabinet meeting and Mr McCully was going to be involved in further discussions.
"It would be better for him to make any further comment," Mr Key said.
The Government last year provided money to assess Auckland's ability to host the Commonwealth Games.
The assessment was commissioned by the New Zealand Olympic Committee and was funded by New Zealand Major Events, a unit of the Ministry of Economic Development, along with government sport funding agency Sparc and Auckland councils.
Sparc chief executive Peter Miskimmin said last year the assessment would give more information about the costs and benefits of holding the Games.
"Hosting a Commonwealth Games would provide substantial benefits for sport in New Zealand, and potentially major positive legacies in terms of infrastructure, volunteer base and participation," he said.
If Auckland goes ahead with a bid it has to file documents with the Commonwealth Games Federation by May 2011. The host city will be announced in November 2011.
Comments and questions4
... and the government has decided not to back it.
Besides that how could it be funded from local rates if the relevant local authority doesn't actually exist, none of the representatives have been elected and the finances have not been assessed.
Maybe we can plough some money into real infrastructure like transport, water, sewerage, power, telecommunications instead of sports stadiums.
You know the things that get used every day and produce sustainable employment...
Well the impact of RWC has been to deprive grass roots sport of funding ( e.g. ASB Trust grant to Eden Park supporting pro sport contrary to its Charter). So how will CWG assist sport in NZ other than making some elite atheletes wealthy?
Auckland, and NZ, is too small to host any future sporting event. NZ, for the love of god, please get real!
how on earth will we ever afford that. we are being hocked up to the economic eye balls to the tune of $ 250-$400m a week for what?
to pay for a completely useless, oversized, pathetic government that gives away $ 90,000,000 on global warming fraud. the point being, we'll be broke before even this idiotic decision gets a rubber stamp from one of these imbecilles.
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