The original vision for a redeveloped Gabba
Featured image credit: Queensland Government
The Queensland Government led by new Premier, David Crisafulli, has officially launched a fresh 100-day review into infrastructure plans for Brisbane’s staging of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, with a possible new main stadium still on the cards.
Investment in venues has proven to be a hugely controversial subject ever since the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved Brisbane as the home of the 2032 Games in July 2021. The Crisafulli Government has today (Friday) fired the starting gun on the 100 Day Review for the Games, after announcing the seven-member board, led by chair Stephen Conry, who will conduct it.
The board is expected to hand down a comprehensive implementation plan including venues, transport infrastructure and governance for the 2032 Games. Focuses for the 100 Day Review will include integration across venues, transport systems, athlete villages, and precincts, while evaluating demand, affordability, deliverability, and overall impact to maximise social, economic, and environmental outcomes.
The launch of what will be the second review into the plans was an election pledge as Crisafulli claimed a victory for the Liberal National Party in the state election last month, ending Steven Miles’ Labor Premiership.
Crisafulli had been critical of the now-former Government’s stadium plans for Brisbane 2032, and said: “Today we fire the starter’s gun on Brisbane 2032, this is day one of 100 in fixing the Games chaos and locking in a plan for the world’s biggest event.
“We’re out of the blocks and finally on the track after three years of false starts. Seven experts in their fields will help guide planning for a world class Games we can be proud of, and a legacy future generations will rely on.
“Today marks the end of the embarrassing chaos and the start of a groundswell of pride in 2032. Queensland will deliver a world-class event and lasting legacy for all. We will put Queensland back on the path to victory for 2032.”
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 (£3.64bn/€4.37bn/$4.62bn) 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, 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 project could be privately funded.
The scope of the 100-day review launched today includes four key areas in the form of: new, upgraded and temporary venues; Olympic and Paralympic villages; transport infrastructure; and Games governance.
While maximising use of existing venues is set out as a guiding principle, the use of the word ‘new’ in the review’s scope has led to questions over whether there is still potential for a new stadium. Questioned on why the word ‘new’ was included in the scope, Crisafulli stated at a press conference today that “there are multiple new venues” already proposed, such as the Brisbane Live arena project. He added: “It needs to be about generational infrastructure, it’s not about new stadiums.”
Questioned further on whether he would veto any potential recommendation for a new stadium, Crisafulli said: “I don’t think it is too much to ask for this group to be given 100 days. In answer to my position, I don’t believe the city needs another stadium. I don’t. Let me be clear. I’ve said that so the terms of reference reflect what the priority is.”
Following completion of the 100 Day Review and the report being considered by Government, the board announced today will lead the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority’s delivery of new and upgraded venues that will be in use ahead of, during and beyond the Games in 2032.
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