With the success of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson says initial discussions have begun over whether a New Zealand-hosted event could be staged in the future.
As of Thursday, New Zealand has so far won 36 medals at this year's Games, with 16 of those being golds to go with 10 silvers and bronzes respectively to sit fourth on the table, behind only Australia, hosts England and Canada.
And with plenty of events still to come, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that New Zealand betters its all-time record haul of 17 golds, won at the 1990 Games held in Auckland.
Aside from his role as Deputy Prime Minister to Jacinda Ardern, Robertson also holds the Sport and Recreation portfolio, and is on the ground in Birmingham to take in the Games.
Robertson is assessing the feasibility of New Zealand hosting another iteration of the Commonwealth Games, and says the ball is rolling as to whether Aotearoa could host the event again.
With New Zealand having already hosted the Women's Cricket World Cup this year, to go with the Women's Rugby World Cup later this year, and Women's Football World Cup in 2023, a fourth tilt at the Commonwealth Games isn't out of the question, he says.
"We've started having some very initial conversations," Minister Robertson said. "But this is a massive undertaking".
"You've been here, you understand the scale of it and the investments that are required.
"We just want to continue to have a look. New Zealand is hosting some big international sporting tournaments over the next few years.
"We want to get those right first, and then have a think about what's possible in the future."
Aiding the fact is the newfound willingness to see the Games shared across a country, such as the upcoming Victoria 2026 Games to be held in Australia, as opposed to the traditional approach of one city.
At present, Auckland has twice hosted the Games - in 1950 and 1990 - while Christchurch hosted the 1974 edition.
And for Robertson, just where a potential New Zealand Games would be hosted is just one aspect of the equation that needs to be considered before further movement takes place.
"It's one of the reasons for me being here," Robertson said. "To have a look at how a Games is run in the modern era.
"It's a massive undertaking, and I don't think anyone should underestimate that.
"One of the things we do know now is that the Commonwealth Games Federation is a little bit more flexible about where it needs to be just one city - 2026 is regional Victoria, so it's a number of different areas.
"As that changes it gives some opportunity to have a bit of a think about when and if New Zealand can host it.
"But there's a lot of work to do before we'd be able to make anything firm on that."
Overall though, Robertson says the relevance of the Commonwealth Games has been on display, despite the event lacking the sheen of the Olympic Games.
"I think you can see from the reaction back home in New Zealand. People are loving it and people are watching it. People are really invested in it.
"It's an opportunity where surprises can occur. Sometimes at the Olympics it's a bit predictable, it's pretty hard to break into that medal area if you haven't been there in the lead-up.
"The Commonwealth Games offer the ability for people to step up. We've seen that at the pool and we've seen that in the velodrome.
"These are a really important pinnacle event, and this one in particular. With COVID, it's been hard for athletes to get together, and they're just loving it.
"This is an important part of our sporting calendar."
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