Grandstand finish costly for GOLDOC
2018 COMMONWEALTH Games organisers were forced to find extra cash for a French grandstand juggernaut and a Sydney-based exhibition company to complete grandstands at the venues when the job ran over budget.
CEO Mark Peters conceded GOLDOC had paid GL Events ExpoNet, an Australian-registered partnership between France-based GL Events and Sydney’s ExpoNet, “variances” on top of undisclosed amounts agreed in three contracts.
The deal was among the largest of the Games, and included 61,000 grandstand seats, all structures and rigging to house video-boards and scoreboards, and all internal carpet, partitioning and staging within each of the GC2018 venues.
GL Events had similar contracts for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games and 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games. The Delhi Games contract was valued at $50.8 million.
GOLDOC declined to say what the discrepancy was worth, however sources say it is as much as $9 million more than the original agreement and was paid out shortly before the Games began.
The revelations came as Commonwealth Games Minister Kate Jones said the Government would pursue legal action against any company found to have misrepresented itself during the tender process.
As revealed in the Gold Coast Bulletin yesterday, detailed analysis of available contract data shows the bulk of cash left town, despite Games organisers talking up the benefits to local businesses during the procurement process. Some successful companies classified by GOLDOC as having “Gold Coast presence” had temporary or non-existent offices as their listed local addresses.
The GL-ExpoNet venture was described as a “local business partnership” by Games organisers when announcing they would supply more than 60,000 temporary seats for use across the Games venues.
Company and property records show ExpoNet is based in the western Sydney suburb of Auburn, and leases a warehouse at Logan.
GOLDOC’s website still described the partnership as “Queensland-based” last night.
ExpoNet specialises in marquees and pop-up exhibits for conferences – and has had contracts with Tourism Australia and Tourism and Events Queensland.
Australian representatives of the partnership, which had a total of three Games contracts, did not respond to the Gold Coast Bulletin’s questions about their “Gold Coast-based” claims.
Mr Peters said GL ExpoNet was the subject of three separate competitive tender processes including technical support structures, exhibition fit-out and temporary grandstands.
“Variances across the contracts were agreed based on changes in the scope of works and amended design requirements,” he said in a statement.
Commonwealth Games Minister Kate Jones said she would take revelations of misleading Gold Coast addresses “very seriously”.
Gold Coast business and political leaders are livid with the revelations.