Melbourne, Australia is home to the Australian Grand Prix and the 2006 Commonwealth Games after hosting the spectacularly successful Australian Tennis Open and the Telstra Swimming Trials in January and February. The ability to successfully host these events didn’t happen by accident. Melbourne’s approach to sporting events has become a playbook for local councils and governments worldwide to host and build sporting venues to attract the lucrative revenue these events contribute to local economies.

Sports facility management is an industry that has developed rapidly since the 1960’s - the industry has advanced markedly due to the explosion of professionalism in sport and the remarkable rise in popularity of events like the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games and World Championships in major sports such as rugby, cricket and football.

The Victorian major events industry estimated an economic impact of $AUD 1 billion, running 15 hallmark events in and around Melbourne, of which 13 are annual and two bi-annual. These events attract 230,000 international visitors each year. That’s 42 percent of all international visitors to Australia. Almost half of all Australia’s tourists come to watch sport, in Victoria. This astonishing figure is worth contemplation for any official in charge of the future economy of a major international city.

The extraordinary rise of the economic impact of sport over the past 30 years is due to many factors, including the astonishing progress in actual sports performance by sportsmen and women, the rise of sport management as an occupation, the emergence of sports medicine and biomechanics, improvements in sports wear and equipment, the relentless surge of commercialism driven by broadcast rights and sponsorship, and the extraordinary revolution in stadium and venue design.

As major sporting events can contribute so greatly to the economic development of a town, city or country, governments and local councils have never before been so interested in bidding for major sporting events. The turning point in my mind came in 1984 when Peter Uberoth ran the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and for the first time in Olympic history, the Games were not a financial burden for the city.

Today, we are more aware than ever before that the facilities and infrastructure that need to be built to host these major events must be constructed with a long-term view in mind. The day-to-day operation of the facilities long after the event has finished should be the major criteria driving their design and construction. Strategic infrastructure planning is crucial to ensure the smooth transition of a stadium from its use in major one-time-only events, to its eventual absorption as a key component of a growing city.

The staging of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne once again focused much of the world’s attention on the city that can justifiably claim to be Australia’s sporting capital. The biggest sporting and cultural event ever staged in Melbourne (bigger than the 1956 Olympics!) attracted some 4,500 athletes from 71 nations, competing in 16 sports to an estimated TV audience of 1 billion people, worldwide.

The twelve-day competition leaves a lasting infrastructure legacy for the whole State, and focuses global attention on the impressive scale and quality of Melbourne and Victoria’s sporting facilities and management.

Beyond the rare spectacle of the Commonwealth Games, Melbourne hosts an impressive range of international sporting events, including the Spring Racing Carnival, the Australian Formula One Grand Prix, the Australian Tennis Open and the World Swimming Championships, next seen in 2007.

As for sporting venues, Melbourne is also home to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, The Rod Laver Tennis Arena, Telstra Dome, and the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre, the largest multi-sport venue in the southern hemisphere. Those in the industry often present Melbourne as a positive case study for attracting major events, one that has simply ‘written the book’ others hope to follow.

Sharing knowledge and experience is the foundation for building and managing venues around the world, in particular facilities required for the enormous emerging markets in India, China and South America. Ensuring these venues have a life beyond their inaugural special event to provide a lasting legacy and infrastructure resource for the community, is one of the most important planning issues that governments and special event organising bodies face.

We identified a unique opportunity to harness Melbourne and indeed Australia’s knowledge and experience in major sports events to share with the world. As part of the sporting events calendar in Melbourne during March, the Melbourne based State Sport Centres Trust developed, in conjunction with Sport Knowledge Australia and industry professionals, a seven-module course to act as a planning tool on how to successfully develop and manage the process of establishing international-level sporting facilities capable of hosting major events whilst being able to operate on a day-to-day basis from a financially-viable footing.

The International Sport Facility Management Programme, hosted by the Melbourne School of Sport and Recreation Management (MSSRM) and Sport Knowledge Australia (SKA), was held just before the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games at the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre.

The programme featured an impressive list of speakers, including world-renowned facility planners, feasibility, architectural, engineering, building and project management experts, who have all been key contributors to Melbourne’s array of major sport facilities.

The six-day course also featured senior operational managers who provided in-depth information relating to critical aspects of establishing and operating a major facility, ensuring that the right mix of programmes and services are available to achieve financial sustainability. The programme is a one-of-a-kind event with international industry experts exclusively presenting to the industry. Delegate numbers were strictly limited. All participants were guaranteed an experience directly applicable to the construction, refurbishment, financial management and operation of both already established and planned sporting venues.

The future of the industry is very healthy, with major international developments all over the world. Major developments in China, The Sports Hub in Singapore, The Sports Hub in Hong Kong, the redevelopment of the sporting infrastructure in Delhi for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, Sports City in Dubai and the redevelopment of The Docklands area in London for the 2012 Olympic Games will revolutionise the way sport is consumed and played in the future.

It is vital that we share our knowledge and experience and ensure that a lasting legacy for international sporting opportunities and the day-to-day participation by the surrounding communities are factored into our facilities. Those who learn from Melbourne’s achievements are guaranteed success.