Featured image credit: Arcadis/Archipelago
The Queensland Government will reportedly be recommended to pursue the development of a new 60,000-seat stadium to serve as the centrepiece of Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The report from 9News today (Friday) comes with the findings of a 100-day review into infrastructure plans for Brisbane 2032 set to be presented on Tuesday. Citing sources, 9News said Victoria Park, a heritage-listed space in Brisbane’s inner-city, has been earmarked as the site for a new stadium, with the state cabinet set to review the proposal on Monday.
The review panel is said to have determined that the option of undertaking an extensive redevelopment of The Gabba would be too challenging in view of the deadlines required for delivery for the Games.
Commenting on the latest developments, Australian Olympic Committee CEO, Matt Carroll, told Sky News Australia: “It’s obviously one of the options that have been around for a while and the government wants to build a 60,000-seat stadium but mainly for cricket and AFL.
“The Olympics and the Paralympics will use it for just one month in July 2032 so we welcome it – but it’s got to be for the city. The IOC (International Olympic Committee) are very strong on that and I’m sure, I know (newly elected IOC president) Kirsty Coventry is certainly strong on that.
“You build these infrastructure stadiums for the city, for the future, not just for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”
The Queensland Government announced last month that it would unveil its Games Delivery Plan for Brisbane 2032 on March 25. The 100 Day Review Committee was launched on November 29, with a number of proposals having since been made public for Games infrastructure.
KIRK, which is headquartered in Brisbane, in February presented its proposal for a new 60,000-seat ‘Gabba West’ stadium. In December, design and consultancy organisation Arcadis set out the case for a new 60,000-seat stadium to serve as the centrepiece of Brisbane 2032, with its proposals for the Victoria Park area of the city gaining high-profile support.
Victoria Park has already been proposed and dismissed as the site for a new stadium. However, an oval stadium with a seating capacity of 60,000-plus was the centrepiece of the 22-page report drawn up by Arcadis.
The review process
Queensland’s Premier, David Crisafulli, officially launched the 100-day review in November, with a possible new main stadium still on the cards. Investment in venues has proven to be a hugely controversial subject ever since the IOC approved Brisbane as the home of the 2032 Games in July 2021.
The launch of what is the second review into the plans was an election pledge as Crisafulli claimed a victory for the Liberal National Party in October’s state election, ending Steven Miles’ Labor Premiership.
Critical venue infrastructure will be funded by the Australian and Queensland Governments under the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Intergovernmental Agreement signed in February 2023. The A$7.1bn (£3.45bn/€4.12bn/$4.48bn) venue infrastructure program will reshape some of Queensland’s most significant venues and precincts, aiming to leave a legacy for the community well after 2032.
Back in March 2024, the Miles government opted to scrap a planned revamp of The Gabba and also ruled out the possibility of building a new stadium at Victoria Park after an initial independent review of the venue infrastructure plan for the Olympics was released.
The planned A$2.7bn redevelopment of The Gabba was one of the projects under assessment during the review, and it was recommended it should be replaced with a new stadium at Victoria Park.
The review estimated that the cost of the Victoria Park stadium, which would seat 50,000 fans during the Olympics and have a legacy capacity of 55,000, would cost between A$3bn and A$3.4bn. The government rejected the proposal as it did not believe it would be possible to deliver any new stadium within the previously agreed funding plan.
As an alternative, Miles’ administration opted to pursue a more modest enhancement of The Gabba in consultation with the Australian Football League (AFL), Cricket Australia and other stakeholders. The government also pledged to investigate upgrades to the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre (QSAC) and Suncorp Stadium.
Suncorp Stadium would host opening and closing ceremonies, while a redeveloped, 40,000-capacity QSAC would host athletics events. In July, the first image of the redeveloped QSAC emerged in the Australian media, and the somewhat low-key depiction led to the government stating that the image was “illustrative only”.
The image showed a single permanent covered grandstand, with the majority of spectators exposed to the elements in uncovered temporary seating. Brisbane 2032 is due to be held in the middle of the Australian winter. At the time, Crisafulli described the QSAC plans as an “embarrassment”.
In August, a privately-funded proposal emerged for a new 60,000-seat stadium in Brisbane that would be capable of hosting the Olympics. The Northshore Vision 2050 project is the brainchild of the Brisbane Design Alliance, a team of specialist designers in architecture, engineering and planning. It features experts from Buchan, HKS, NRA Collaborative, Aurecon and Nikken Sekkei.
The project was met with resistance from Miles, who said it was “highly unlikely” that the A$6bn scheme could be privately funded.
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