Leigh Egan weighs in on regional Victoria Commonwealth Games snub

By Liam Nash

Jul 19, 2023

King of the hill: Shepparton’s 8m-high starting ramp is certainly not for the faint-hearted. Photo by Megan Fisher

With news regional Victoria — including Shepparton — will no longer host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, many may feel the rug has been whisked out from beneath their feet.

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Greater Shepparton had another chance to show it could host large-scale sporting events with the best of them, for world-leading athletes, with the city’s concrete playground primed to welcome the globe’s elite BMX and road cyclists.

This will no longer be the case — at least not on the Commonwealth stage.

The Victorian Government’s announcement on Tuesday morning that its regions will no longer co-host the Games due to a reported budget blowout was followed by waves of disappointment.

And one local who shared such a sentiment was Shepparton’s own Australian BMX hall of famer Leigh Egan.

“I don’t understand politics and money and all that, but I think things could have been done better,” Egan said.

“In the end I’m about sport and the simple fact that it was coming to Shepp would’ve been good.

“But looking back, this could have all been run out of Melbourne.

“To bring it all to the regions, it was always going to blow it out. I’m all for that, one of the regions was my region, so that’s cool, but I’m just disappointed.”

Egan weighed in on the statement given by Premier Daniel Andrews, saying the decision-making players who deemed the Games too costly had perhaps not fully considered those at ground level.

“The majority of the comments I’ve seen from people are for the fact that he’s pulled the pin, but these are people who have never fired a shot, these are people that are not into their sport,” he said.

“In the end, that’s the bottom line — they’re basically saying we can’t afford it.

“And if that’s the case, what have they done? Have they used the Comm Games as a platform to get back into office and then pulled the pin?

“There’s all sorts of angles here, but in the end it’s just super frustrating and disappointing for everyone involved.”

In an attempt to soften the blow caused by the pulled pin on the Games, the state government has announced a $2 billion package to be shared throughout the state across housing, tourism and sporting infrastructure industries.

We now know Shepparton is included in the package, set to receive further upgrades to BMX facilities to help entice more events such as the BMX Racing National Championships to be held at the Shepparton BMX track in October 2023.

Commonwealth Games Delivery Minister Jacinta Allan said the pledge was part of a statewide assurance the government was committed to delivering.

“Whether it’s upgrades to BMX facilities in Shepparton or many other smaller projects around the state, every one of the permanent new and upgraded sports facilities will be delivered.”

Andrews echoed Allan’s statement, saying there were further benefits to arrive, as more than 1300 new homes would be built across regional Victoria through a $1 billion Regional Housing Fund.

“The Shepparton community has told us that more places to live and more places to stay across regional Victoria is what really matters — so that’s exactly what we’ll deliver.”