City game for role as permanent host

Andrew Mathieson
GEELONG could host Australian Masters Games again as early as 2013, a leading official said.
Games advisory board chairman Bob Spurling said the opportunity depended on Canberra this year taking up an offer to host the event.
Geelong was set to become a permanent masters games host city after also locking in the national event for 2017 and 2021, he said.
“If Canberra doesn’t take it up for 2013, and they haven’t taken it up yet, then Victorian Major Events has first right of refusal on that option,” Mr Spurling said.
“They’ve got time and the chances are they’ll take that option because we think they’d be crazy if they didn’t. Who knows, things happen, but we’ll be poised to jump in there for 2013 and we definitely have 2017 and 2021.”
Confederation of Australian Sport, which has the licence to run the games, had told Mr Spurling it was keen to run a six-year rotation of the event between Adelaide, Canberra and Geelong, he said.
Only Adelaide and Canberra have hosted the biennial games on multiple occasions since the first masters games in 1987.
Mr Spurling said previous hosts Hobart, Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Newcastle were set to miss out in the future.
“Geelong is ideal for these games,” he said.
“We’ve been saying that for six years and now that we have finally got the games and it’s happening I’m even more convinced.
“We can also handle a lot more numbers. I could almost guarantee that when we get them back next time we’ll be well and truly over the 10,000-attendance figure.
“People will come back here – that I have no doubt about.”
Mr Spurling said a number of factors, including the ongoing economic crisis, the impact from Victoria’s bushfires disaster, World Masters Games in Sydney this year and the switch of the national event from spring to summer conspired to lower initial forecast of attendance in Geelong.
Geelong attracted less than 7000 athletes after Confederation of Australian Sport organisers initially predicted more than 10,000 visitors, including volunteers.