New Olympic stadium in Brisbane is coming after all
A new stadium is to be built in Victoria Park in Brisbane for the 2032 Olympics, which will continue to be used after the Olympic Games. It was also announced that ‘The Gabba’ will be demolished after the Games.
The 2032 Olympic Games will be held in Brisbane - the third time they have been held in Australia after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000. The organisers of the Games want to learn from the mistakes of previous hosts and avoid investing huge sums of money in new venues that are then hardly or never used again. Therefore, existing venues are to be used for the most part - except for Horizon Centre, for example.
During these plans, the construction of a new main stadium for the Olympics was discussed for a long time. The government originally favoured a conversion of the Brisbane Cricket Ground “The Gabba”. Most recently, there were proposals for a new building on the opposite site of the historic cricket stadium - now there is clarity: A new stadium is to be built in Victoria Park.
With the “2032 Delivery Plan”, the Queensland Government has presented the next steps for the infrastructure planning of the Games within the existing 7.1-billion-dollar (6.56bn EUR / 5.48bn GBP) funding envelope. At the centre of the project is the construction of a new 63,000-seat stadium in Victoria Park. The cost of the stadium, which will host the athletics competitions as well as the opening and closing ceremonies, has not yet been announced, although the 100-day review mentioned an estimated 3.8 billion dollars (3.5bn EUR / 2.9bn GBP).
“A world-class city needs a world-class stadium – and Queensland will finally get what it deserves, along with a permanent swimming and aquatics facility, a significantly upgraded tennis venue, and several indoor venues across south-east Queensland.”, says Andrew Liveris, Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising Committee President.
In addition to the new stadium, a new swimming centre, a modernisation of the Queensland Tennis Centre, the construction of rowing infrastructure on the Fitzroy River for rowing and canoe sprints and the construction of new Olympic Villages have also been announced. The Barlow Park multi-purpose stadium in Cairns will also be modernised to increase seating capacity and spectator facilities.
A detailed description of the already published venue plan for Brisbane 2032 will follow shortly.
The choice of Victoria Park as the site for the new stadium is controversial. Some Brisbane residents are demonstrating against the new project, arguing that more and more green spaces are being taken away from people in the city. The site is also said to be of great importance to the indigenous population.
After the Games, the new Olympic Stadium is to become the home of the Brisbane Lions Australian Football Club and Queensland Cricket. Until then, “The Gabba” will continue to serve as a venue for both sports before it is demolished for planned residential development. (stadiaworld, 25.03.2025)
