The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) Evaluation Commission, chaired by Scotland's Louise Martin, are currently in Sri Lanka for a vital four-day inspection of the Hambantota 2018 bid.

The five-person Commission are based in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo due to the lack of facilities currently in place in Hambantota.

However, they today went on a helicopter trip to Hambantota to look at the city in a tour that saw them visit the magnificent Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium here, which staged two matches during the 2011 Cricket World Cup and is scheduled to host the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and the archery if the Hambantota 2018 bid is successful.


Doubts were raised over whether the 34,000 capacity stadium could be built in time to host matches for the Cricket World Cup but it was opened just days before it hosted its first official international match between Sri Lanka and Canada on February 20, 2011 and received glowing reviews.

Rajapaksa believes this illustrates that Hambantota could deliver a Commonwealth Games on time and to a high standard without any of the high-profile construction delays seen in Delhi.

"I remember well when people said that Hambantota couldn't host matches in the 2011 Cricket World Cup," he told insidethegames.

"But we built this fantastic stadium which was praised by everyone and hosted one of the most memorable games of the whole competition when Sri Lanka beat Canada.

"I also remember that not long before the World Cup, the spot where this beautiful stadium now exists was just a big jungle.

"But if you look now, it can host over 30,000 people, it will be expanded to 60,000 seats when the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup comes here next year and it is renowned around the world even though it exists in the most rural village in Sri Lanka.

"I think that this shows what we can do in Sri Lanka and why we can stage a magnificent 2018 Commonwealth Games here.

"People may want to compare us to the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games but if you actually look, Delhi had to renovate so many existing facilities and that gave them so many problems.

"They had a lot of trouble with getting hold of land and carrying out work on it so there was lot of red tape for them.

"We had the same problem when we were trying to stage the 2011 Cricket World Cup in our capital Colombo because there is so little room to manoeuvre as it is such a built-up area.

"In contrast, Hambantota is a simple, clean area with little in place so the architects can design what they want to design without restrictions.

"All venues except this existing Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium will be built before 2016 when we host the South Asian Games, so we will have everything ready two years ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

"This includes a 40,000 capacity athletics stadium, a 7,500 capacity international aquatics centre, a 7,000 capacity hockey stadium, a 2,500 capacity exhibition centre, a 5,000 capacity main arena, a multi-sport complex and a velodrome.

"All of them except the velodrome will be developed regardless of the outcome of the Hambantota 2018 bid.

"But it would mean everything to have the Games and the one thing for sure is that we will be ready to stage them in style."

Rajapaksa, the rising star of Sri Lankan politics at just 25-years-old, claimed that the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Hambantota could generate as much as $8 billion (£5 billion) for the economy and create up to 100,000 jobs in the region if the city sees off their only rivals for the competition - the Gold Coast in Australia.

"The 2018 Commonwealth Games would mean so much to the people who live in Hambantota," he said.

"They are very poor, low income families but the Commonwealth Games will do wonderful things for the area.

"We have accurate estimates from experts that say that the 2018 Commonwealth Games would create 100,000 jobs in the region and inject around $8 billion (£5 billion) into the economy in Hambantota.

"We know the Gold Coast are strong rivals but we would have everything in place by 2018 to host a fantastic Commonwealth Games.

"Each venue will be financed and owned by the Government to guarantee use and control and each comes with a clearly defined legacy brief integral to the Ministry of Sport's new seven-year plan to create a pyramid of sporting opportunity throughout the unified nation."


The Hambantota 2018 bid is unique in that all but three of the competition venues are in a single cluster - the Games Park (pictured) - which will also house the Games Village and training venues for most sports.

It means that the majority of athletes will travel no more than one kilometre from the Games Village to their respective competition or training venue.

In 2018, the cluster will also be just 13 kilometres from the new Hambantota International Airport and well served by a new road and rail network.

"We've listened to athletes and put functionality and convenience at the forefront of the planning and design process," said Mahindananda Aluthgamage, Sri Lanka's Sports Minister and co-chairman of the Hambantota 2018 bid.

"90 per cent of competition venues are within one kilometre of the Games Village and training venues are either in the Games Village or 0.2 kilometres away in the adjacent training village.

"They will have both training and competition venues on their doorstep."

The Commission, who undertook their four-day inspection of the Gold Coast last week, are tasked with writing an evaluation report on the two bid cities which will be released in September and will play a crucial role on deciding where the event is held when the vote for the Games takes place at the CGF General Assembly in St Kitts and Nevis on November 11 this year.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
June 2011: Hambantota can deliver great 2018 Commonwealth Games, claims chairman
June 2011: Exclusive - Channel 4 war crimes documentary is false claims Sri Lankan Sports Minister
June 2011: Survey gives Hambantota 2018 bid major support boost ahead of inspection
June 2011: "Virtual" Hambantota bid is not a problem claim Commonwealth Games Federation
June 2011: Exclusive - Commonwealth Games will be awarded to best candidate it is claimed