OPINION: Think bigger on 2026 Commonwealth Games for community sport

We got our first glimpse of what this could partially mean this week in a move that is bigger than central Ballarat: a slippery, muddy and uneven paddock.

For the Miners Rest community this is a field of dreams.

The site is part of a $150 million packaged redevelopment of Mars Stadium to transform our arena into a house to properly host the Games' headline act, track and field.

This part is about relocating tenant North Ballarat Football Club while major upgrade works are underway. And so, a purpose-built place in Miners Rest will be North's temporary place to roost.

In turn, a community with no serious sporting infrastructure to call its own will finally have a sporting precinct and the potential - as City of Ballarat mayor Des Hudson suggested - to eventually build its own football, netball and cricket clubs.

This was a project that had long been marked for the City, but became a fast-tracked legacy project thanks to the Games.

A bit of discomfort for North need not be a major problem knowing the stadium they have been calling home will soon be a reinforced fortress.

Even AFL club Geelong has been known to set up training bases, such as nearby in Newtown, when Kardinia Park has been untenable. Newtown and Chilwell Football Club reaped a little spruce to accommodate the city's stars.

But this displacement is also bigger than North.

Mars Stadium is also the main base for Greater Western Victoria Rebels, the region's AFL girls and boys talent programs.

While the AFL is yet to make comment on what upgrades might mean for the Rebels, one can only hope this signals a chance for the Rebels to greater showcase their other bases.

Alexandra Oval in Ararat is a fantastic sporting facility that should be in the spotlight more. Warrnambool's Reid Oval hosted and in-season AFLW clash between Essendon and Geelong.

As this column always promotes, seeing the game's best up close strengthens pathways with more juniors realising what can be possible.

This is about thinking bigger for the indirect benefits our hosting the Commonwealth Games could offer the wider region.

State and local government funding has also helped to deliver quality soccer and cricket facilities at Victoria Park where this week the pavilion was declared open.

Yes, it is a win for community sport but effectively next door will be the Games' athletes' village, home to 1800 athletes and officials who undoubtedly will be venturing into the park to train and to enjoy.

There are so many opportunities we could potentially seize in however we define the Games' legacy for our region.

There is so much more ahead we do not yet know but at least we know have something tangible to consider a legacy - even if we cannot quite picture it yet through all the mud.

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