Banks eyes Auckland Olympics ... no joke

John Banks. Photo / Jason Dorday

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Super City mayoral candidate John Banks has a vision of bringing the Olympic Games to Auckland in 2020.

But the current Auckland Mayor's bold plan is light on detail about how the city of 1.4 million will foot the bill for an event that has cost larger, richer, world centres tens of billions of dollars to stage.

Undeterred, Mr Banks also aspires to piggyback on an Australian bid to host the soccer World Cup in 2022.

China spent about $40 billion on the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and London will pay about $20 billion to host the event in 2012.

The current soccer World Cup is estimated to have cost South Africa $7 billion.

Speaking on Radio Sport about Auckland's successful bid to host the 2012 triathlon world championships, Mr Banks let slip that he wanted to bring the 2020 Olympics to Auckland.

"Can you imagine in our lifetime bringing the Olympic Games to the southwest Pacific, Auckland? How good would that be."

Mr Banks is no stranger to Think Big projects for the city. In his first term as mayor he proposed a $3.9 billion eastern highway, which contributed to his downfall. A spokesman for Mr Banks yesterday told the Herald the mayor was keen to help Football New Zealand be a part of Australia's bid for the 2022 World Cup.

Though Mr Banks was yesterday being unusually quiet about his desire to host the world's two largest sporting events, his spokesman Scott Campbell said it was something the campaign team had been exploring.

Mr Campbell said the plan was a serious suggestion and not a calculated effort to divert attention from reports this week about Mr Banks' expenses.

The mayor admitted claiming $438.80 in entertainment costs despite having issued a campaign bulletin saying he had "never charged a sandwich, lunch or coffee to the ratepayers of Auckland".

Mr Banks said on radio that he had raised the idea of the Olympics with Prime Minister John Key, and friends in Wellington were having a "light-handed" look at his vision.

A spokesman for Mr Key said Mr Banks had raised the idea some time ago but at no stage had there been any meeting or proposal with either the Prime Minister or Sports and Recreation Minister Murray McCully.

Mr McCully has previously said the Rugby World Cup next year would be the last chance to hold the event, partly because of the rapidly increasing cost.

The Government has also pulled the plug on a bid for the 2018 Commonwealth Games, turned off by a projected $600 million loss.

Super City mayoral contender and Manukau City Mayor Len Brown called Mr Banks' Olympic vision a "flight of fancy".

"This is the Auckland mayor who refused to build a pool for the community in Otahuhu yet now he wants to spend billions ... on an Olympic bid."