Ballarat transport options during Commonwealth Games 2026 up in the air

As the city gears up to host 30,000 people, twice a day for athletics events, logistic plans are yet to be released on how they will move to and from Eureka Stadium.

With accommodation options unlikely to be sufficient for these massive numbers in just three years time, many of the visitors will likely come from Melbourne for events but so far car parking options are extremely limited at the sporting precinct.

So transport advocates are pushing for commuter rail and other alternative transport to be the best option to meet the 2026 demand and leave a valuable legacy to Ballarat.

A third station for an events platform was floated in July 2022 by the City of Ballarat in their document outlining potential legacy infrastructure projects that would benefit the city beyond the games.

The council's proposed options include a Creswick Road gamesday station or a station on the Wendouree line within walking distance of the stadium.

The state government was unable to confirm if Ballarat was getting a third platform or if Creswick Road or Howitt Street specifically would be closed during the games.

They said planning was ongoing, they were considering all transport options and anticipate there will be traffic changes in the city.

Committee for Ballarat chief executive Michael Poulton said a third events platform is what the committee is advocating for.

"It provides another form of transport from the [Ballarat] city to the stadium, which would be particularly helpful for those who have some mobility issues," he said. "It just makes so much sense that the events platform serves that purpose, given the relationship between the railway line and the stadium."

Public Transport Users Association, Ballarat branch convener Ben Lever said a station outside the stadium would make the most sense and be most convenient for spectators.

Without an events platform close to the stadium, Mr Lever said moving people from Ballarat or Wendouree stations would likely involve a large number of buses or a multiple kilometre walk.

"Which would be less convenient for the public, but also also quite expensive and logistically challenging for the government," he said.

Advocates, including the council, are calling for the Ballarat bus system to be overhauled.

"Another key piece of the puzzle will be creating a really pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly corridor along Creswick Road," Mr Lever said.

The duplication of Creswick Road is another project the city was advocating for.

Their legacy document dot points plans to make a grand northern entrance to the city similar to Victoria Street.

While there will be some buses regardless, without the road upgrades and without the platform, Mr Poulton said there would be major pressures on Creswick Road.

"That's the bit that's really unpalatable is where you would have considerable buses running up and down, backwards and forwards from the city to the stadium," he said.

"I just think that's a poor outcome."

Developments along Creswick Road and walkability between Eureka Stadium and the Ballarat Sports and Events Centre are high on the agenda for the Major Events Precinct advisory group.

Basketball Ballarat chief executive Neville Ivey said there are two mobility options to get between the two large centres that make up the events precinct.

Creating a route from Eureka to BSEC or walking along Creswick Road or Norman Street, both would need infrastructure upgrades.

Mr Ivey said investment in landscaping would be ideal so it could become an addition to the precinct people want to spend time in rather than just getting from A to B.

"People might come to our venue and drop the kids off for basketball training and then go for a walk around this beautiful landscaped area," he said.

"We want something we can be proud of."

The elephant in the room is the still vacant John Valves site.

At the corner of the events precinct, it could be a key part of Commonwealth Games infrastructure, but so far has been cut out of preliminary concept designs.

In April last year, council was considering purchasing the two sites, 701-723 and 735 Creswick Road.

The eight hectares was valued at around $10 million to $12 million according to the state's Valuer-General, but the owners were under no obligation to sell.

In April, before the state government had announced their infrastructure plans, council chief executive Evan King said there would be opportunities to fasttrack the sporting precinct investment and consideration would need to be made about where to put the warmup track, as well as corporate, hospitality and merchandising requirements.

It seems focus has now shifted away from the Valves site and towards the existing showgrounds and the southern end of the precinct.

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Underpinning all of these decisions is the long term impact on the city, at the end of the day what will Ballarat be left with once the games leave?

If buses are implemented it would be an example of transporting many visitors using zero emission transport options.

"That infrastructure exists currently and should be deployed for the games," Mr Poulton said.

If we were to get an events platform, in the long term that could become a more established train station and unlock rail as a way to quickly get around the city.

With 20,000 people expected to move into the north growth zones over the next decade, Mr Poulton said adding more cars to the roads is not going to be an option.

"This allows people to use those stations as a metro style train system to get around our city by train, without feeling as though they have to drive their cars everywhere," he said.

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