Glasgow 2026 bid has 'reputational and financial' risk

Hosting a curtailed 2026 Commonwealth Games successful Glasgow would transportation "a estimation consequence arsenic good arsenic financial risk", nan Scottish authorities person warned.

Talks person been ongoing for respective months astir hosting a scaled-back type of nan arena aft nan Australian authorities of Victoria withdrew because of rising costs.

First Minister John Swinney warned successful August that nary nationalist costs would beryllium committed to nan bid, but Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) person many times insisted their connection would not request immoderate authorities money.

With nan timescale now captious to judge successful excess of £100m of Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) capital, nan Scottish authorities were asked astir their position successful nan Holyrood parliament connected Tuesday.

In response, Cabinet Secretary Neil Gray insisted discussions had "intensified" betwixt themselves, nan UK authorities and starring Commonwealth Games figures and that a last determination would beryllium made "in nan coming weeks".

However, he cautioned that location were important issues still to see earlier agreeing to bring nan Games backmost to Glasgow 12 years aft it past staged them.

"It is precisely because we understand nan imaginable benefits, arsenic good arsenic nan value to elite athletics successful Scotland, that we are proceed to see this," Gray said astatine Holyrood. "However, location are risks that we request to bottommost out.

"It’s a caller concept, it’s untested, nan figures we are being quoted are ambitious, truthful we request to beryllium mindful of that.

“This is not a replica of nan 2014 Games. This is simply a smaller version, pinch less sports complete less sites, truthful so location is simply a estimation consequence arsenic good arsenic financial risk.

"Glasgow and Scotland person world estimation for hosting awesome events incredibly successfully truthful we request to make judge this conception is right.

“Every passing time makes delivering nan arena much challenging and that is 1 of nan questions astir risk, whether this tin beryllium achieved successful nan clip available."