On this day, in three years time the world will be watching Victoria host a key sporting event.
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March 17, 2026 will mark the start of the regional Victorian Commonwealth Games, with three years officially on the clock, what do we need to achieve by then and how far have we come?
Eleven months ago Premier Daniel Andrews announced at Eureka Stadium (commonly known as Mars) a starting line-up of events for 'a game like no other'.
What followed was a flurry of excitement as marathon gold medalist Steve Moneghetti said he could have never imagined the Commonwealth Games coming to his hometown.
This continued as the realisation hit home, this would be more than just a sporting event, its influence and legacy will impact many sectors of the city's tourism, culture and infrastructure.
Since April 2022, more sports have been locked in. Despite Ballarat missing out on rowing, the council secured a bid for the marathon and Creswick gained mountain bike riding.
Legacy is still a key aspect of the game's delivery.
City of Ballarat mayor Des Hudson said in a statement long-term legacy for both infrastructure and social inclusivity was a goal for the council.
The boost to the city is expected to "span generations", Cr Hudson said.
In August, the games were pushed back into the limelight as Ballarat representatives travelled to Birmingham to learn from the 2022 games.
When Stuart Benjamin returned he was filled with optimism that the Ballarat games would be a success, but still had some logistic concerns surrounding accommodation, transport and ticketing systems.
Two months later the state government finally announced $200 million spend in Ballarat to upgrade the train station and Eureka stadium.
These two projects along with the athletes village are the major set of works needed for the games.
Aside from the three major upgrades other infrastructure works will be needed including upgrading Creswick Road and developing bike and pedestrian paths to allow around 30,000 people to exit the stadium and head back to their accommodation in Ballarat or on to public transportation back to Melbourne.
New deadlines have been set, civil work expressions of interest were released in March 2023 for the athletics village and work is expected to start later this year.
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Remediation work has also begun on the site which should be completed by late 2025.
Alongside major work, tourism sectors are gearing up in an effort to showcase all the Ballarat can offer alongside our strong sporting assets.
"Victoria 2026 will showcase Ballarat and regional Victoria to the world," a government spokesperson said.
More detailed timelines for upgrades to the stadium and train station are still to be released.
We have our to do list and the clock is ticking.
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