The first anniversary of the vote that will bring the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow in 2014 is looming, but the biggest financial cataclysm since The Depression has not blunted the city's hopes of delivering on their promises.
It will be a year on Sunday since Glasgow beat Abuja amid riotous scenes from Sri Lanka to Glasgow's Fruitmarket, but already the city is well advanced in its planning.
John Scott, chief executive of the 2014 organising committee has to give a progress report to the general assembly of the Commonwealth Games Federation in the Gambian capital, Banjul, next week, and yesterday confirmed it will be upbeat, with no compromise on the presentation which won for Glasgow.
The 2012 London Olympics has been forced to backtrack on its vision of one room for every competitor because of the credit crunch, but Scott, who took up the post in August, is confident Glasgow will live up to its Games plan.
Speaking shortly after a royal visit by Prince Edward to the organising committee offices overlooking George Square yesterday, Scott said: "We are still going to be able to live up to our promise. The dialogue with potential constructors has all been very healthy, and gives us confidence we will be able to deliver."
Contrary to suggestions that it would be a struggle to find partners to build the athletes' village, there is healthy competition. "The heart of our bid was a really quality experience in the village, so it's a very important part of our promise, and is proceeding to plan. We are at the competitive dialogue phase. Four consortia are through to that stage, and it will be taken down to two early in the New Year. So despite the downturn, the hope is that the economy will be bouncing back by the time these properties come on the market.
"The housing will be needed for the Games, so only post-2014 will it come on to the commercial market place. It includes 300 units of social housing and a 120-bed care home. The way the package has been constructed, there is a cashflow in there, giving some guarantees for the developer. So it's very attractive, and we are very hopeful we will get a good consortium."
The land provided for building has been cleaned up and infrastructure is served by the regeneration route, and the M74 project is "up and running and under way". Sponsorship is not yet an issue. Glasgow is constrained from most activities until Delhi 2010 is over, and sponsors will only be sewn up in the last two years. "We all have to hope the financial climate has improved by then," says Scott. "It's critical to life, let alone the Games. We're having conversations with prospective sponsors. It's very important that they be aware what we are doing."
A sponsorship strategy has yet to be developed, and the first step is the appointment of a marketing and sponsorship director, which has been problematic. "It's not been an easy one to fill," admits Scott. "We have employed a recruitment company, because, from our first advertisement, we didn't get anyone with the necessary experience. This is a very unusual operation."
Unlike the Olympics, the Games movement does not own its sponsorship programme. Glasgow has effectively bought the rights for 2014, which gives the CGCS annual income through to 2014.
"But we are looking to deliver these Games on budget and will be trying to generate revenues through sponsorship, tickets and marketing. My goal is to deliver the Games to the budget set."
The current staff of eight will rise to 35 by 2010, and will top 700 by 2014, plus 15,000 volunteers. Scott recalls how the Sydney Olympics and Manchester Commonwealth Games targeted the unemployed and problem pupils at school. Manchester rarely surfaced on the radar as a major events venue before 2002, but more high-profile events now go there than ever before. "And there's very good evidence of these volunteers getting jobs in service industries, because the Games experience has helped equip them."
He refuses to be drawn into the cliche of delivering "the best games ever . . . That's such a subjective thing. I'm saying I want to deliver an outstanding Games. To me that means the participants, spectators, and sponsors come away saying by God, that was really good.' To say it was better than . . . for me, is not so critical. We want to put on a fantastic experience here in Glasgow. Comparison with others is so arbitrary, so subjective."
But he warns that it is for Government and sport governing bodies to invest and deliver the legacy which he describes as "a misunderstood concept . . . It's for others to address these issues - provide adequate coaching and facilities to cope with the increased interest, though part of our role is to remind people of what the opportunities are . . . The challenge for government is that legacy does require investment."
As Scott says, his organisation will not exist by 2015. And it's a fact that no Olympic or Commonwealth Games has ever properly reaped the legacy benefits of being hosts.
(Source: theherald.co.uk)
