Southeast Queensland Council of Mayors faces a (AUD) $1 million funding shortfall to complete a feasibility study on the regions possible bid for the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the Courier-Mail reported Thursday.
Nine councils that agreed to contribute to complete the study have pledged a combined $1.5 million, which was originally projected to cost $2.5 million. Each of the councils passed a motion to fund the feasibility study on a pro-rata basis.
The Moreton Bay Regional Council is the only one that declined to vote, meaning that its $316,175 planned contribution won’t likely be provided. The region joins Gold Coast and Logan councils, which have both voted against funding the project, creating a $645,162 deficit, after deciding that the burden of an Olympics would be too much for tax payers.
Brisbane tax payers are the largest contributors, with a contribution of $869,224, followed by the Sunshine Coast at $214,369, Ipswich at $142,533, and Toowoomba residents contributing $122,767.
It is believed negotiations for in-kind support from the business community are underway, but protected by commercial-in-confidence agreements until a pledge is formalized.
Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, Council of Mayors chairman, has said the study would be scaled to measure based on the available funding. He said, “we will make sure councils are not asked to tip more in.”
A pre-feasibility study completed earlier this year found it was possible for the region to host the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The full feasibility study will aim to determine whether a bid is practical.
Currently Budapest, Los Angeles and Paris are bidding to host the 2024 Games with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) set to elect a winner September 13, 2017 in Lima, Peru. At IOC headquarters earlier this month IOC President Thomas Bach vowed changes for the Olympic bid process after two cities, Hamburg and Rome, were forced out of the 2024 race due to a referendum and change in government. Bach said that the current process created “too many losers.”
If the IOC stays with its current scheduling, applications for the 2028 Olympic Games would need to be made in 2019 with the final election taking place in 2021.
Australia has hosted two Olympic Games – Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.
