Ballarat Commonwealth Games Stadium Upgrade Moves Ahead

The Victorian government has released an advance tender notice for construction contractors to undertake the $150-million upgrade of Ballarat’s Eureka Stadium ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Ballarat-based Morton and Co Architects and Cox Architecture will design the stadium upgrade, which will include a new athletics track, stadium expansion for 5000 additional seats, improved accessibility, additional temporary seats, and a competition-standard track on the playing field.

The advance tender notice includes civil and earthworks, carparking, sports lighting and associated amenities.

The Games are expected to create more than 7500 jobs and generate more than $3 billion for the state economy, with the upgraded stadium set to become a major hub for large events beyond the Games.

An expression of interest process will open this month via the Buying for Victoria website.

The Victorian government will then choose a shortlist of contractors to invite to a request for proposal process.

Attracting big events to the upgraded stadium after the Games would generate extra revenue and employment for the Ballarat region, Wendouree MP Juliana Addison said. 

“The upgrades to Eureka Stadium will enable us to host the Commonwealth’s best athletes here in Ballarat in 2026 but, beyond that, the improvements will benefit our community for decades to follow,” Addison said.

▲ The former Ballarat Saleyards site where the athletes village will be built.

Though the timeline is tight, many are concerned that between the state government’s Big Build, Big Housing Build and the Commonwealth Games, there is more competition for labour, material and skills creating more uncertainty.

“The demand for materials and labour for these projects will have an impact on a construction industry already at capacity,” Mitchell Brandtman associate Zaron Smith said.

“Typically infrastructure goverment projects if they require speed in completion, they will require more staff.

“Infrastructure projects typically have larger budgets that could encourage more appealing pay packages for staff.”

▲ One of the suites in IHG's new hotel in the Geelong Quarter project by Franze Developments, being completed ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

The rush to build and upgrade sporting infrastructure in time for the Games is also finally addressing the need for accessibility in many venues across the state and is in turn driving other sectors like tourism accommodation development. 

“We’re investing in world-class sporting infrastructure that will allow Ballarat to be host to some of the Commonwealth’s best athletes, driving economic growth and an enduring legacy of accessible, inclusive and fit-for-purpose housing and community infrastructure,” Victorian minister for Commonwealth Games Legacy Harriet Shing said.