EXCLUSIVE

On the penultimate day of the Paris Olympics, Minister of Sport Chris Bishop walked into an exclusive VIP room at the Stade de France.

Bishop was there to meet Lord Sebastian Coe, the head of world athletics and the biggest powerbroker in the sport. The meeting was part of an ambitious strategy to bring one of the biggest events on the global athletics calendar to these shores.

The Herald can reveal that Athletics New Zealand – with Government support - are working on a bid to bring the world indoor athletics championships to this country in 2028.

That could see big names such as sprinters Noah Lyles and Sha’Carri Richardson, pole vault exponent Armand Duplantis, middle distance men Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Josh Kerr and British 800m sensation Keely Hodgkinson competing here, along with the exciting generation of New Zealand talent, with the likes of Hamish Kerr, Maddi Wesche, Tom Walsh, Zoe Hobbs, Eliza McCartney and George Beamish.

The timing could be ideal. Not only because the Olympics will be held in Los Angeles later the same year but also because of the burgeoning interest in the sport here, thanks to the recent exploits of Kerr, Wesche, Hobbs and others.

Usually held every two years, the championships attract around 550 competitors from 160 nations, with 26 events (13 for each gender). It also offers flexibility; despite its indoor designation, the current criteria permit the event to be staged outdoors and the 200m track (instead of the standard 400m) means Eden Park or the new Christchurch stadium could be feasible options.

2024 Olympic champion Hamish Kerr. Photo / Getty Images

It’s typically staged in the third week of March, which would work well in the New Zealand climate. World Athletics mandate a 5000-seated arena as a minimum, with a six-lane oval track (eight on the straight).

It’s still a lofty goal – given the logistics of bringing such an event to Australasia, far from the traditional posts of the United States and Europe – but Athletics New Zealand chief executive Cam Mitchell believes it is worth the stretch, as they seek to take the sport to another level.

“It could be that aspirational event that we build all of our programming and development work towards and then head into Los Angeles from there,” he said.

The smaller indoor fields mean it is the “cream of the crop” – the outdoor world championships typically host more than 2000 athletes – while the novelty factor might prove a big draw.

“We are hopeful this will be a nice positioning piece for sport in general,” added Mitchell. “We see a lot of rugby, cricket, netball, football here but events like this, with [track and field] at an elite level – don’t come very often.”

He is hopeful about the fan appetite, though admits it is largely untested.

“Could we get 10,000 to an athletics event? 20,000 30,000? We do major events well and there is not a lot on the horizon which helps us create a legacy for athletics.”

New Zealand has enjoyed some notable moments at the Indoor extravaganza over the years, with a peak in Glasgow in March. There were golds for Kerr (high jump) and Beamish (1500m), while Walsh and McCartney claimed silver in their events.

Mitchell said they will explore “all options” in their feasibility study and are open-minded about the venue, admitting that local and central government investment is vital.

American star Noah Lyles could come to New Zealand, if the bid is successful.

For his part, Bishop said the Government was broadly supportive of the initiative.

“Athletics is keen to host more events here to put us on the map a bit,” Bishop told the Herald. “It’s also an opportunity to involve Pacific nations as well and that is something we would highlight as part of any bidding process.

“Ultimately it is over to Athletics New Zealand and the government is there, ready to support. We have got the major events fund to try and attract events to New Zealand and athletics would be able to put a strong bid in for that.”

“Let’s just wait and see. Track and field in New Zealand is going to get a new lease of life, particularly following Hamish’s gold and all the other performances…the future is bright.”

Bishop said the meeting with Coe went well: “It’s early stages but it was good to make that connection, a chance to introduce myself and get to know him a bit”. The double Olympic champion had been “very impressed” by New Zealand’s performances in Paris.

According to Mitchell, the pitch is part of a broader plan to grow the sport and develop more sustained interest, rather than the traditional spikes, then lulls between major events like the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics. Part of the plan is to “activate” the regions, by increasing resourcing to those areas, to have staff closer to athletes and coaches. Another element is around making the most of the existing calendar of events.

“Every summer we have world athletics events here, with international fields competing and participating but I don’t know how many people know about this,” said Mitchell. “And we have never had a better crop of athletes.”

He cited the example of the Cooks Classic in Whanganui:

“It’s an amazing venue, an international athletics event, we want to get the whole of Whanganui coming out, supporting athletics, seeing the stars.”

However, Mitchell also recognises they need to “professionalise” the events, to ensure they are consistent with a level that people expect from sports and entertainment “these days”.

Expressions of interest for the 2028 event need to be lodged by December, with the final bid submission due by July 2025.

The World Athletics Council will award hosting rights for the 2028 and 2030 editions next September.

Mitchell confirmed that the national body were also conducting a feasibility study around hosting a future edition of the World Athletics road running championship.

The only tier one World Athletics or IAAF event previously staged in this country was the world cross country championships, held at Auckland’s Ellerslie Racecourse in 1988.

Michael Burgess has been a sports journalist since 2005, winning several national awards and covering Olympics, Fifa World Cups and America’s Cup campaigns.