Commonwealth Games 2010: Reality Check!

Vinayak Uppal, CCS Intern

Delhi seems to be captivated by a single number nowadays, ‘2010’. The event that has catapulted this particular number into such prominence is the 19th edition of The Commonwealth Games which are to be hosted by New Delhi in that year. It has been played up by the media and those backing the event as a turning point in our history, an event which will significantly alter our progress. Though prestigious and important in our development as a nation, what reality and history seem to suggest is quite different.

Most independent academic research on the topic of mega sporting events seems to suggest that these events are not always as beneficial as they are made out to be. More interestingly in India’s case, research seems to suggest that in most cases mega-sporting events are an even worse investment for developing countries than for industrialized countries.

Developing nations have some inherent characteristics which make it difficult for mega sporting events to be economically viable. These can be listed as:

1. High infrastructure development costs.
2. Under utilization of facilities post event
3. High opportunity cost of capital
4. Unable to attract large numbers of spectators

One need not look far to see the truth of the above points. The Asian Games held in 1982, amongst much fanfare and noise, will actually illustrate all these points. The cost of development was enormous, as almost all the venues were new, some estimates placing it at nearly a thousand crores. The utilization of the venues for the games, post-event has been dismal. The Nehru Stadium, even in government documents, has been termed as grossly under utilized. The Indira Gandhi Stadium has fallen into complete disrepair, with it even being sealed at one point as it did not even conform to safety guidelines. Similar stories exist for the other stadias. Efficient utilization of infrastructure post-event is essential to the success of an event. This is a huge challenge that we face as we push for greater prominence in the world event hosting scene. Even a country like Australia, which has a highly developed sporting culture, is finding newly developed stadiums in Sydney turning into white elephants.

A developing nation will always have more urgent needs to which it can devote its resources. This of course does not mean that sports are to be completely ignored; expenditure must simply be made in context to what the nation can afford. It is also not important that the government should be a part of the process. A public-private or a fully private partnership should be considered seriously in such cases. Nigeria recently spent $330 million on a new football stadium, more than it spends annually on health or education. That is certainly a statistic which India would not like to emulate, though seems to be coming frighteningly close to. Its estimated expenditure for the games in 2010 have been ballooning since the initial estimates made in 2003, already touching over Rs 5000 crore.

And finally, nations like ours do not have the number of spectators which developed nations have, who are willing to pay the hefty price tags that these international sporting events carry. An event of this kind cannot be supported and organized simply on the grounds of national pride. Though there are intangible benefits of that kind which are derived from the event, the numbers are simply too large to be justified in that manner. Thus the event has to make some economic sense. It must be able to create revenues in accordance with the magnitude of the expenditure, and also create a legacy which is utilized efficiently.

A world class city is not created by simply brushing all the ugly aspects under the carpet. No queremos goles, queremos frijoles (we do not want goals, we want beans) was painted on a Mexico stadium during the Football World Cup in 1986. Unless we too want to be facing similar messages in 2010, we must get our act right. The games must be used as a tool to develop the city holistically, and not as a way to further enrich the privileged. This can be done if and only if the games are dealt with professionally and not get carried away with nationalistic sentiments and the sort.