THE WA Government has taken the first step towards hosting the Commonwealth Games in Perth.

An audit of the city’s sporting facilities has been commissioned to determine what infrastructure upgrades would be needed to stage the 11-day spectacle.

Perth has been earmarked by Gold Coast Commonwealth Games chairman Peter Beattie as the ideal location for the 2026 Games. Optus Stadium was designed to host a Commonwealth Games and can be easily reconfigured to allow for a 400m athletics track.

Bids for 2026 must be made this year, with Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Edmonton (Canada) and Auckland (New Zealand) among the cities to express their interest. Adelaide and regional Victoria have indicated their desire to campaign for the 2030 Games.

Sport and Recreation Minister Mick Murray said VenuesWest had been instructed to determine whether government-owned facilities were “up to scratch” to stage the 18-sport event. The Department of Sport and other groups would also be involved in the study.

Camera Icon Optus Stadium. Credit: Daniel Wilkins

HBF Stadium (swimming and diving), Perth SpeedDome (track cycling), Whiteman Park (shooting) and Kalamunda bike trails (mountain biking) have already been identified as needing upgrades if a Games bid were to be launched.

An athletes’ village would also have to be built somewhere in Perth to house the more than 6500 athletes and team officials from 71 nations and territories.

“We are having an audit of our facilities,” Mr Murray said.

“This is twofold. One reason is that we are looking into the future to see what sporting facilities we need and the other is in case it is decided to have a crack at getting the Commonwealth Games for Perth.

“The aim is to make sure we have facilities which are up to scratch. Yes, we have a new stadium, but the stadium is only one small part of what is needed to hold a Commonwealth Games. We need to know exactly what’s needed. ”

The 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were in Perth in 1962 at the now defunct Perry Lakes Stadium. Before losing the 2008 State election, the former Labor government mooted a bid for the current Commonwealth Games.

Mr Murray said Australia was one of a handful of countries capable of hosting a Commonwealth Games, making Perth an attractive proposition.

“When you look at all the Commonwealth countries, how many could honestly stage a Commonwealth Games,” he said.

“Not many. Maybe four or five — Britain, South Africa, Canada and Australia come to mind. If one of them said ‘no’ to holding the Games then it could certainly make a Commonwealth Games available to Perth.”

Mr Murray said in addition to an audit of sporting facilities, an economic feasibility would need to be undertaken.

Estimates suggest the $2 billion spent on the Gold Coast Games would deliver $4 billion in economic activity and 16,000 jobs.

“I would love to have a Commonwealth Games in Perth but not at any cost,” Mr Murray said. “So, if we want to take this any further, we will need to do a feasibility study on the returns to the State.”

On Thursday, Premier Mark McGowan told 6PR “any State in Australia would love to hold the Commonwealth Games”.

“It’s a matter of what you need to do to be able to achieve that and how much it costs. The advice I’ve received is that it costs about $2 billion to put on — that’s another $2 billion we would need to find,” he said.

“I think it’s a hard ask, but we’ll investigate it.”