The largely empty site, on the corner of Howe Street and Cummins Road, has been marked as a temporary home for North Ballarat Football Netball Club during Eureka Stadium upgrades.

Victorian Deputy Premier and Commonwealth Games Delivery Minister Jacinta Allan, in visiting the site on Tuesday, confirmed the competition-grade facilities would then be made "available to the community long after the Games have been run and won".

The Miners Rest development is part of a $150 million state government package to transform Eureka Stadium (better known as Mars Stadium) for hosting the Games' track and field program. This will include 5000 extra permanent seats, improved facilities and an athletics warm-up track on the old Ballarat Showgrounds site.

The Minister announced expressions of interest opened on Tuesday for a head contractor to the whole project, including the Miners Rest site.

Miners Rest community sporting infrastructure has long been on City of Ballarat's to-do list. The booming township has no formal community sports facilities outside the primary school, which hosts an Auskick program. Most juniors travel to nearby country towns or into Ballarat for team sports.

IN OTHER NEWS

City of Ballarat mayor Des Hudson said this was a significant win for the Miners Rest community and, importantly, showed the Games' legacy was also to benefit outer areas of the city.

Cr Hudson said the playing surface would be in line with top grounds in the city, which were often the envy of neighbouring cities.

"Putting in essential sporting infrastructure is really important to give the community a sense of place, a sense of belonging, for participation whether or not that is in structured sport or even just a place to hang out and do kick-to-kick or throw a netball," Cr Hudson said.

Meanwhile, experienced tourism operator and government tourism specialist Martin Darcy will join City of Ballarat to oversee Commonwealth Games delivery in the region. Mr Darcy has been appointed to the City's new director role of Economy, Experience and Commonwealth Games.

He is set to start at town hall on June 7.

HOW the Commonwealth Games athletes' village will take shape on the old saleyards site remains in planning with the state government, including the right mix of permanent and portable buildings.

Victorian Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan, the minister responsible for Commonwealth Games delivery, said the project was not just about beds for athletes and officials.

Minister Allan said the Games precinct demanded a host of communal facilities that were not needed or suitable for a permanent residential housing estate - which the saleyards was marked to become as a legacy of the 2026 Games.

"You will see this across all the four village sites and you saw this indeed when Melbourne hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games, as a consequence of what you need for the Games itself," Minister Allan said.

"We're working through how you construct a mix of permanent and temporary facilities for the duration of the Games on each of the sites and importantly, these sites will be set up for permanent housing works into the future because all the enabling works, all the utilities and the connections, will be there ready to go."

Ballarat is set to house about 1800 athletes and officials during the Games in the site, off La Trobe Street. Athletes villages will also create hubs in Bendigo, Geelong and Morwell for the Games and set up for permanent housing as part of the Games' legacy.

The proportion of social housing in the project is yet to be determined.

Minister Allan also confirmed decontamination works at the La Trobe Street saleyards site remain ongoing and a plan was in place to identify complexities in this process.

Have you tried The Courier's app? It can be downloaded here.