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7NEWS
5 days ago
- Sport
- 7NEWS
Brisbane's biggest park on the chopping block: 63,000-seat Olympic stadium to take over Victoria Park
Once promised as the city's major new green space, Brisbane's Victoria Park is now set to lose the majority of its land to Olympic stadium construction, new research reveals. Premier David Crisafulli in March announced plans to build a new 63,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. He said the decision was made after a review of infrastructure options, revealing major works at the Gabba could not be completed in time, and emphasised hosting the Games at Victoria Park was the best choice for Queensland' s interests. The new stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as athletics events — becoming the centerpiece of the Games. Post-Games, it is expected to serve as Brisbane's new home for cricket and AFL. Concerns have been raised about the loss of green space, heritage values, and the adequacy of infrastructure to support the new stadium. Critics argue the development will significantly impact the 64ha park, with some estimates suggesting at least 58 per cent of the park will be affected. A preliminary analysis by sustainable development researcher Dr Neil Peach, commissioned by advocacy group Save Victoria Park, paints a stark picture of the impact of the Brisbane Olympics 2032. He used government-issued visuals of the proposed stadium overlaid with Perth's Optus Stadium — a 60,000-seat, 14-storey venue similar in size to that planned for Brisbane. 'This is an extremely hilly, challenging landscape, in a high-traffic area next to Queensland's largest hospital — you can't simply plonk mega venues here,' Save Victoria Park spokesperson Rosemary O'Hagan said. She criticised the government's promotional images as 'nothing more than architectural artifice' and demanded clarity on how much public land will be lost and the true cost of the project. 'Where are the sprawling plazas, the bridges, the towering retaining walls, and the extensive amenities that will be required to cope with tens of thousands of people at a time?' O'Hagan said. 'Where are the multiple carparks and connections to roads and train stations that have been promised?' Crisafulli stated the choice to host the games in the park was clear: 'It became a choice between the embarrassment of hosting the Games at QSAC (Queensland Sport and Athletic Centre) or a new stadium at Victoria Park. 'The Games must be held at a new stadium at Victoria Park. 'Any other choice would have meant placing the government's interests ahead of the interests of Queensland.' Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner had sought to ease concerns about green space loss after Crisafulli's announcement in March. 'The construction elements that are proposed, including the stadium and the swimming complex, will only take up a fraction of the green space,' Schrinner said. He described the stadium as a 'world-class sporting venue' and 'an asset for Brisbane for decades to come'. Meanwhile, community group Save Victoria Park has fiercely opposed the development, warning of irreversible damage to Brisbane's green heart. 'There are — and always have been — other viable options: flat, less challenging sites not listed on Queensland's Heritage Register,' O'Hagan said. Despite official assurances, critics argue the government has yet to fully disclose the true scale of parkland loss or offer a clear plan for preserving Brisbane's largest inner-city green space.
The Guardian
25-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
The ‘hot mess' Olympics? How Queensland's 2032 Games planning descended into farce
Few people in Queensland disagreed with the former state premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, when she described plans for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane as a 'hot mess'. Tuesday's announcement by the new LNP government was framed as an end to the sort of disarray that has plagued Olympic planning during the past four years. But the city's third venues plan – its third proposed Olympic stadium – might be the most problematic. It will now almost certainly ensure protests and opposition north and south of the Brisbane River, with the new Victoria Park stadium and the demolition of the Gabba controversial choices for locals. There may also be opposition from the middle of the Fitzroy River, where the local freshwater crocodiles might not be too pleased about the idea of Olympic rowing at Rockhampton. The premier, David Crisafulli, began with an apology of sorts for breaking an election promise. He had campaigned in October last year by saying there would be 'no new stadiums'. 'I have to own that, and I will, and I am sorry, and it's my decision, and I accept that decision,' Crisafulli said. The premier's attempt to justify the broken promise went like this: he had to choose between pushing ahead with the plan to host athletics at the 1980s-era Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre (an option derided as embarrassing), or building a new venue at Victoria Park. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'And I know which one would have been politically easier for me to make, but I've made the right choice,' he said. That choice seemed plain well before the election. It was repeatedly pointed out that his position – 'no new stadiums' but definitely not QSAC – was untenable. Victoria Park has been pushed for more than a year in certain quarters of the city. The idea that the plan is simply an organic recommendation of a 100-day venues review seems unlikely. As does the argument that, finally, the needs of the Olympics have been put ahead of local politics. Crisafulli's 'no new stadiums' promise was largely pitched at voters in Queensland's regional cities, which were critical to the LNP's election win. Spending big money on Big Things in Brisbane is the sort of thing that brings up grievances in Townsville. And so the LNP will send several sports – archery, sailing, football and rowing – up north, over the reported objections of those sports' governing bodies and against the recommendations of the venues review. The government also rejected the advice of the panel and will build a swimming centre of excellence at the site of the Centenary Pool, on the outskirts of Victoria Park. There are some decent arguments for doing so. Hosting swimming events at an arena with a temporary pool doesn't create much legacy for the sport. The new venue would create a permanent world-class facility for swimmers. It is exactly the same principle behind the last government's idea of using QSAC for athletics events. Athletics would get a permanent, top-level home. Broken promises are dime a dozen in politics. There are those who will be sceptical that this plan is above politics, when it appears so clearly designed to appease regional voters and other interest groups. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The original plan to redevelop the ageing Gabba stadium fell by the wayside a year ago. Then the Australian Olympics supremo, John Coates, said the Olympic movement was 'on the nose' in Brisbane because the plan was not popular. People were upset about the mooted cost, and the impact on the local area. Building a new (and more expensive) stadium at Victoria Park shifts that flashpoint north of the river. But turning the Gabba area into a privately funded entertainment precinct, as outlined on Tuesday, will ensure that protests continue on the south side, too. When Victoria Park was first mooted, the idea of building over the city's largest green space – a 64-hectare parkland which, though close to the city is woefully underused– was pushed as a sort of trade-off. 'Brisbane city council has a policy of no net loss of green space in the city,' said Graham Quirk, the former mayor who has championed Victoria Park. 'Our proposal, as inferred in the report, was that you could potentially turn the Gabba, an area which is in drastic need of additional green space, into green space over there. 'There would be a loss in one location but a gain in another area'. No one mentioned green space at the big launch on Tuesday. It seems as if the big vision of the new government – complete with a slick presentation and uplifting backing music – is for an Olympics held in venues, but not a city. For all the urgency and 'the time has come to just get on with it' talk on Tuesday, it remains to be seen whether the people of Brisbane are willing to support it.
Reuters
18-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Brisbane 2032 venue decision to be announced in late March
SYDNEY, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The venue plan for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics will be unveiled late next month, the Queensland government said on Tuesday, finally bringing to an end a couple of years of flip-flopping over one the most important planning elements of a Summer Games. Brisbane was awarded the Games in 2021 but political rows, particularly over the main stadium and the venue for the athletics, have resulted in continuing uncertainty over the final plans. A panel appointed by Queensland State Premier David Crisafulli last November to conduct a second review of the venue options will report on March 8 and their findings revealed to the public, along with the government's response, on March 25. "Our delivery plan will provide a new way forward and get the Games back on track," Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie told the state parliament on Tuesday. "Queenslanders no longer want to be embarrassed on the world stage. We will deliver a 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games our state can be proud of and showcase what makes us a great state on the world stage." Australian Olympic Committee Chief Executive Matt Carroll warned earlier this month that a final decision on the main venues needed to be made before the end of June. Crisafulli's predecessor as premier, Steven Miles, had rejected a plan for a A$2.7 billion ($1.72 billion) revamp of Brisbane's Gabba cricket ground as well as a proposed new A$3.4 billion Olympic stadium in the inner city's Victoria Park. Miles' solution was to use the Lang Park rugby stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies with the athletics taking place in the ageing QSAC venue in southern suburbs of the city. That plan was described as an"embarrassment" by a group of local Olympic champions, while Australian athletics great Raelene Boyle feared it would make Brisbane 2032 look like a "cheapskate" Olympics. Crisafulli is also on record as being against the construction of a brand new showpiece stadium but he softened his position in an interview at the weekend. ($1 = 1.5733 Australian dollars)
Asharq Al-Awsat
08-02-2025
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
AOC Chief Says Brisbane 2032 Venues Decision Needed by July
Australian Olympic Committee chief executive Matt Carroll has warned that a final decision on the main venues for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics needs to be made before the end of June. Brisbane was awarded the Games in 2021 but political rows, particularly over the main stadium and the venue for the athletics, have meant that a final plan is not yet in place. Upon his election as Queensland State Premier last November, David Crisafulli announced a seven-member board would conduct a second review of the venue options and report in early March. "I think it is time to finalize any more reviews and settle on exactly what the ... governments want to fund in terms of venues," Carroll told a Senate Inquiry at the Federal Parliament in Canberra on Friday. "I think (that needs to happen in) the first half of this year, for two reasons. "One, the sports program will start to be fleshed out the following year in 2026, which is obviously very important, and it's obviously important to start the construction process, or whatever work that needs to be done, which is going to take a bit of time." Carroll said that Brisbane being awarded the Games an unprecedented 11 years before the opening ceremony had proved to be a double-edged sword, but any further delays could lead to challenges in completing projects in plenty of time. "It's important to get on with the job now in decisions around the venues, in decisions around anything that's going to be built," he said. "The construction industry in Australia is stretched at the moment, therefore, to be able to start to do all these venues, wherever they may be, needs to be you know moved along swiftly, but everyone knows that." Crisafulli's predecessor Steven Miles had rejected a plan for a A$2.7 billion ($1.7 billion) revamp of Brisbane's Gabba cricket ground as well as a proposed new A$3.4 billion Olympic stadium in the inner city's Victoria Park. His solution, the use of the Lang Park rugby stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies with the athletics taking place in the ageing QSAC venue in southern suburbs of the city, was described as an "embarrassment" by a group of local Olympic champions. Crisafulli's review committee is no longer taking submissions, having already received a proposal from Swimming Australia for a new aquatics center in Victoria Park and another for a 60,000-seat wooden stadium to be built next to the Gabba. Environmental campaigners and some local residents are already organizing in opposition to any development of Victoria Park, which Greens Senator Penny Allman-Payne described as the "lungs" of Brisbane. Carroll said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would need to approve any changes to the venue plan, which would also have to align with bid commitments Brisbane made on environmental impact and sustainability.
