The debate surrounding Brisbane’s main stadium for the 2032 Olympic Games is set for another twist after the newly elected Premier of Queensland, David Crisafulli, signalled his intention to release a new venue plan within the next 100 days.
Crisafulli claimed a victory for the Liberal National party in the state election over the weekend, ending Steven Miles’ premiership.
Crisafulli, who has been critical of the now-former government’s stadium plans for Brisbane 2032, spoke with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday (Sunday) to discuss the state’s options going forward.
“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,” Crisafulli said, according to Fox Sports.
Back in March, the Queensland government opted to scrap a planned revamp of The Gabba (pictured) and also ruled out the possibility of building a new stadium at Victoria Park after an independent review of the venue infrastructure plan for the Olympics was released.
The planned A$2.7bn (£1.37bn/€1.65bn/$1.78bn) redevelopment of The Gabba was one of the projects under assessment during the review, and it was recommended that The Gabba 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 Queensland 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’ government opted to pursue a more modest enhancement of The Gabba in consultation with the 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.
Queensland’s former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has criticised the government’s modest plans, stating that the decision would represent a “backwards” move. Crisafulli, who himself has described the QSAC plans as an “embarrassment”, has said that he will listen to Palaszczuk’s views on the matter.
“I might just allow the former premier to be able to put her point of view across and I’ll put mine,” he said. “And that is, within 100 days Queenslanders will see a plan that they are proud of and in doing so, we can restore faith in that process.”
Following Crisafulli’s election, a redevelopment of The Gabba may be back on the agenda. The Gabba had been set for a major overhaul ahead of the Games after the federal and state governments in February 2023 committed more than A$7bn in funding to improve infrastructure ahead of the Games.
The state government was to fund the A$2.7bn redevelopment of The Gabba, while the federal government was to provide A$2.5bn for the development of Brisbane Live, a planned 17,000-seat, multi-purpose arena in the city. The Gabba project was ultimately axed in favour of the more low-key QSAC plan, which would cost A$1.6bn.
In August, a new, 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 60,000-seat stadium would feature an adjacent aquatic centre, wave pool, and retail and hospitality zone. The venue would also include pedestrian promenades extending east and west to provide what is being pitched as a “unique” riverfront experience.
The project was met with resistance from Miles, who said it was “highly unlikely” that the A$6bn project could be privately funded.
