77780

Plans for the main venue for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics look set for a reboot with Queensland Premier-elect David Crisafulli pledging to scrap the proposal to upgrade the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre (QSAC) and instead deliver a new plan for Games venues as of early next year.

The newly elected Premier, whose Liberal National Party won in Saturday’s state poll, has previously opposed all plans for the main 2032 Games venue, without offering any proposal of his own. However, he had previously said he would not commit to a new stadium.

Sworn in today, Premier Crisafulli indicated that previous proposals for an upgrade of the Gabba or an all-new stadium in Brisbane’s Victoria Park are again under consideration.

Speaking with reporters after the election victory over the incumbent Labor Party, Premier Crisafulli promised a new Olympic stadium plan by early February, stating “within 100 days Queenslanders will see a plan that they are proud of and in doing so, we can restore faith in that process.”

Premier Crisafulli has given his team one month to appoint a new independent Infrastructure Co-ordination Authority, which will then have 100 days to deliver a report outlining which infrastructure projects will be approved and at what cost.

The new approach comes as no surprise as outgoing Premier Steven Miles had indicated back in March that contracts for major venues would be put off until after the 26th October election.

With the original Games bid suggesting a main Games venue at Brisbane’s Albion Park, subsequent plans explored a $2.7 billion upgrade of Brisbane’s Gabba in inner-city Woolloongabba and the building of an entirely new stadium at Victoria Park at an estimated cost of $3.4 billion.

The Gabba and Victoria Park options were abandoned earlier this year with an upgraded QSAC offered as the preferred option.

In August, a private consortium unveiled a proposal for a 60,000 seat stadium and surrounding sport and hospitality precinct on the Brisbane River.

Looking to move the city’s Olympics infrastructure legacy forward, Premier Crisafulli advised that he had spoken with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese about the Olympics in a Sunday morning phone call.

Explaining this, he advised “I spent a considerable amount of time talking to the Prime Minister about that and we intend to speak directly to the (Federal) Sports Minister (Anika Wells), who is a Queenslander, and I reckon we can get a good outcome.”

Earlier in the year, former Brisbane Mayor Graham Quirk led a 60-day review of Queensland’s infrastructure for the Games, and ultimately recommended a new stadium at Victoria Park to replace an “end of life” Gabba.

However, if a rebuild of the Gabba now returns as an option it will leave Brisbane without a major venue for AFL and cricket for the duration of the rebuild.

Images: A 2021 artists impression of a rebuilt Gabba in Games mode (top), the Games bid proposal showed a new stadium in Albion Park (middle) and a concept for a new venue in Albion Park (below).

Related Articles

30th September 2024 - Brisbane secures 2030 UCI Track Cycling World Championships

27th September 2024 - New advisory group to make Brisbane 2032 Games a catalyst for change

28th August 2024 - Brisbane Lord Mayor unveils Olympic transport legacy plan

19th August 2024 - Design consortium reveals proposal for riverside Brisbane 2032 Olympic stadium

14th August 2024 - Masterplan released for popular Brisbane sporting precinct

13th August 2024 - Brisbane 2032 appoints senior Paris Olympics executive as Chief Commercial Officer

2nd August 2024 - Northshore Brisbane $87 million street renewal commences in preparation for 2032 Games Athlete Village

24th July 2024 - Initial design for Brisbane Olympic stadium shows venue with one grandstand

16th June 2024 - 2024 Australian Swimming Trials wrap up at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre

27th May 2024 - Sunshine Coast Council Chief Executive to head Brisbane Olympic Games Authority

14th May 2024 - Federal Government budget favours arts, sport and tourism along with $3.4 billion commitment to Brisbane Olympics

8th May 2024 - Brisbane 2032 Legacy Committee meets under new chair

30th April 2024 - First Nations Olympians and Paralympians unveil athlete-drafted plan for Brisbane 2032 and beyond

19th April 2024 - Life saving sport looking for inclusion in Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games program

17th April 2024 - Queensland Government to reinstate Brisbane Olympics infrastructure agency

1st April 2024 - International Olympic Committee ‘very positive’ about Brisbane 2032 Games preparations

26th March 2024 - Queensland Premier suggests major Brisbane Olympics venue contracts could be delayed until after state election

23rd March 2024 - $6.4 million cost of Gabba rebuild proposal an example of confused Brisbane 2032 decision-making

18th March 2024 - Queensland Government’s Brisbane Olympics venues review recommends scrapping of Gabba rebuild

11th March 2024 - Brisbane 2032 President Andrew Liveris calls for Games building to begin

8th February 2024 - Gabba redevelopment likely to be scrapped after new evidence to Brisbane Olympics venues review

23rd August 2023 - AOC’s Matt Carroll tells Federal Senate hearing that redevelopment of the Gabba for Brisbane Olympics is ‘not required’

23rd June 2023 - Australian Government seeks advisors to drive major events through and beyond the Brisbane Olympics

9th May 2023 - Federal budget set to deliver further $500 million for Brisbane Olympics but no funds for Victoria’s Commonwealth Games

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.

Click here to view our subscription options.