Although the bid for the 2014 Commonwealth Games is now a two-way race between Glasgow and Abuja, Scotland’s Sports Minister Patricia Ferguson warned Friday that Glasgow must continue its all-out bid to host the Games. She said Halifax’s withdrawal will not necessarily make the bid easier to win, reports The Herald.
Ferguson added, “it was always going to be hard to win this contest and it still will be. Our focus has to remain on what we can do to deliver the best Games and making them as good as they can be.
“When the Commonwealth countries come here on their inspection visit this summer, we need to give them a memorable experience and convince them we can host a Games that will be a credit to the Commonwealth”.
Ferguson said she was surprised by the withdrawal of Halifax but added, “…our primary concern has always been, and will always be, the strength of our bid”.
“Glasgow have very good facilities, as a legacy of previous investment, even going back to the Victorian bowling greens at Kelvingrove, which form part of our bid. We had a report by consultants before we bid, so we know exactly what the costs would be”, she said.
Louise Martin, Chair of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland, said she was “flabbergasted” but on a note of caution she said, “a two-horse race is not necessarily a good thing. We should not be complacent. Those who planned to vote for Canada may now go for Abuja. So Glasgow has to keep working to ensure it has the better bid.
“I am sorry for Halifax. They have put in a lot of work. I know how disappointed they must be, and I have asked Jon Doig, our chief executive, to all Tom Jones, his Canadian counterpart, to offer our sympathies”.
Meanwhile Mitchell Obi, chair of Abuja’s 2014 Commonwealth Games bid’s publicity sub-committee, expressed confidence Friday that it could bring the Commonwealth Games to Africa for the first time. He said concrete plans to establish an athletes’ village and expanded sports facilities were “on course”.
According to The Herald Obi said “it is very exciting now that Nigeria and Scotland will be directly competing. Of course, everyone here in Abuja looks forward to inviting our Scottish friends to join in our celebrations”.
Obi added, “we expect to submit the bid document in the very near future. We are finalizing a master plan for an expansion of sport facilities and are drawing up plans for a new Games village.
