Finally, an Olympics we can be proud of!

Today’s announcement by the Crisafulli government of its’ “2032 Delivery Plan” finally brings me excitement and joy as a proud Brisbanite, as we lead into 2032. After the last government’s review and proposal to spend $1.6 billion at QSAC for a temporary venue, which would provide no real legacy for the city of Brisbane outside of the 3-week Olympic window. It would also present Brisbane to the world audience as a backwards city.

Starting with the announcement that a new 63,000 seat oval shaped stadium would be built at Victoria Park. This on its own is an incredible outcome for the city of Brisbane, as we compete for sport and entertainment against other capital cities! It is also something that I hold close, as I was the first person to suggest publicly that Victoria Park be the location of a legacy facility moving forward. People that don’t see this site as a great idea, I think will realise how this site is unmatched the first time they attend an event there in 2032 onwards. And the activation it will provide to Victoria Park will be far greater than the master plan that is currently in place.

By building Victoria Park, in 2033 they will demolish the Gabba and use the space as a mixed-use precinct, including housing. Which is a great outcome as it will provide much needed additional housing within close proximity to the city. This idea also aligns with my suggestion back in September 2022.

Brisbane Live / Arena has been excluded from the scope of Government delivered facilities, freeing up nearly $3 billion to deliver other facilities and infrastructure for the games. The location for Brisbane Arena has been locked in on the Gabba West site over the CRR station, with a capacity of 17,000 people. It will be sent out by the Government shortly for expression of interest for private companies to bid on, to build, deliver and operate the facility. Based on the presentations made today by the premier, there is significant interest from the commercial sector for this project.

The decision to deliver a new national swimming facility at Spring Hill is also a big positive. It will provide not only 25,000 seats for the swimming for the Olympics (8,000 legacy), but it also frees up Chandler to become a para-sport community facility post Olympics. Providing a legacy for swimming and for para-athletes here in Queensland.

The State Tennis Centre also is in the mix, getting much needed upgrades to enable it to have the opportunity to host major tennis tournaments. 

The Gold Coast Council also understand the benefits of investing in sporting infrastructure, by taking on the responsibility of funding and delivering the new National Hockey Centre.

And across Queensland the regions will get splashed with investment in sporting facility upgrades which helps the whole of the state develop future athletes, and aids in improving the health and mental wellbeing of people, aside from the economic benefits of high-quality sporting facilities.

Moving onto the Athlete Villages. I have always thought that the proposal to have the athlete’s village at Northshore was a poor idea. When Archipelago proposed to have the athlete’s village at Victoria Park, I immediately saw this as a great idea, as it brings much needed housing close to existing transport and infrastructure. I never thought that the RNA showgrounds could be an option to consider for housing 10,000 people. Locating the athlete’s village at the RNA, provides the central housing we need in Brisbane, without taking away the green space from Victoria Park. One would assume that the state government would release a tender to the developers to see who was willing to pay the government the most to be able to build and sell the apartments at the end of the Olympics. This development might also pay for the 20,000 seat upgrade to the main arena of the RNA showgrounds. 

Moving onto the infrastructure nominated in the delivery plan. For those of us that track the infrastructure projects that the government have in the pipeline, the proposed infrastructure doesn’t really stray far from what is already announced or have in progress already. By having the games it just forces the hand of the government to actually deliver these projects by 2032, and have them fully operational to facilitate the movement of people across our state when the games are on. 

Overall today’s announcement I think should be celebrated by Queenslander’s, it provides us with the legacy we need off the back of an Olympics.