The stadium saga surrounding the 2032 Brisbane Olympics has taken another twist today after Queensland Premier Steven Miles rejected recommendations to develop a new facility in Victoria Park in Herston.
The objectives of a report commissioned in January by Mr. Miles and led by former Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk was to review new and existing facilities to address potential cost overruns as strategic planning for the games continues.
The review’s research was led by Ken Kanofski and Michelle Morris who were tasked with determining options that would be the best value for money, fit for purpose, and provide a legacy for the community.
At the time, Mr. Miles said the review’s intentions were simple.
“The mission is simple, make sure the Games work for Queensland and delivers for Queenslanders,” he said.
The commissioned report recommended a $3.4 billion (US$2.2 billion) “greenfield” stadium with a capacity of 55,000 to be built in Victoria Park at a cost more than an original idea to demolish and redevelop the Gabba cricket ground.
However, Mr. Miles, who is under electoral pressure to retain a Labor majority, ruled out the idea basing his decision on overspending the public purse.
“When Queenslanders are struggling with housing and other costs I cannot justify to them spending $3.4 billion on a new stadium,” Miles told reporters. “I ordered this review because I had heard from Queenslanders that $2.7 billion at the Gabba was too much. So I know that for Queenslanders $3.4 billion at Victoria Park will be too much. So I am ruling that out.”
In a scaled-down plan for infrastructure, Mr. Miles said instead of a new stadium, the Gabba will not be torn down, but refurbished to host Olympic-newcomer cricket.
The opening and closing ceremonies will now be held at Suncorp Stadium, home of the Brisbane Broncos, and the athletics program will be held at an upgraded Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre.
“Suncorp Stadium will become our Olympic stadium,” Mr. Miles said.
Stadium Plan Mired in Controversy From the Start
The option to demolish and redevelop the Gabba had been contentious since the idea was announced.It faced fierce opposition from the local community, who presented the state parliament with a 4,000-name petition calling for action to be rescinded.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner also became an opponent after quitting a games advisory committee, saying it was a “pointless talkfest.”
Impediments for the demolition included the removal of local East Brisbane State School, which has stood nearby for 125 years to make way for the development.
Findings from the Quirk report said that the “cost of a stadium in Victoria Park ... is likely to be marginally more expensive than the full Gabba rebuild (more than $3 billion) with better operational efficiencies and outcomes that would deliver a true international standard venue, enabling Brisbane to compete with other top stadiums in Australia and generate [an] additional premium seating revenue.”
In 2023, former International Olympic Committee vice-president John Coates, perhaps with an eye of concern towards the events that led to Victoria cancelling the 2026 Commonwealth Games, urged the Queensland government to invest in upgrading existing facilities.
In announcing his decision today, Premier Miles upheld Mr. Coates’s advice, going back on the earlier plan to implement the Quirk report.
“I know I said I would do what the [Graham] Quirk review recommended, but I cannot support the option that they have landed on,” he said.
“I cannot support building a brand new stadium while Queenslanders are doing it as tough as I know that they are.”
