Premier of Queensland Steven Miles has reneged on his pledge to abide by every proposal made in a report regarding Olympic venues for Brisbane 2032, after it was suggested that the Gabba be demolished and a new stadium be built.
Rather than heeding the advice, the government has decided to upgrade Suncorp Stadium to accommodate the opening and closing ceremonies, as well as renovate the Gabba and the Queensland State Athletics Centre to accommodate athletics.
Thirty suggestions were made by the independent Games review, which was headed by former Lord Mayor of Brisbane Graham Quirk. One of the recommendations was to build a $3.4 billion, “world-class” stadium at Victoria Park to serve as the host venue for the 2032 Games.
Quirk stated that the Gabba♿ was too old to be kept and that a complete rebuild would probably cost more than $3 billion in renovations. He also urged for the Gabba to eventually be destroyed and converted into green space.
At a news conference, he said reporters, “The Gabba was going to need to be replaced and it is never going to be a tier one stadium because of the limitations of space.”
But the premier claimed it would be too expensive to demolish the “beloved” Gabba and build a replacement somewhere, despite having earlier promised to embrace Quirk’s proposals before they were made public.
He stated that three of the proposals, including demolishing the Gabba, would not be carried out, even if the administration would adopt 27 of them.
Miles stated this afternoon, “I cannot justify spending $3.4 billion on a new stadium.”
“Queensland residents told me that $2.7 billion at the Gabba was too expensive, and that $3.4 billion at Victoria Park would be too much, so I requested this review. That is being ruled out.Although I am aware that I promised to follow the Quirk review’s recommendations, I am unable to endorse the course of action they have chosen.
“I cannot support building a brand-new stadium while Queenslanders are doing it as tough as I know that they are.”
The government was urged by the evaluation not to use the QSAC as an Olympic venue; instead, the almost 50,000-seat arena would undergo a major renovation in order to accommodate the athletics, which might cost up to $1 billion.
Miles announced that he had agreed to the suggestion to construct Brisbane Arena, a new stadium, on the Roma St Parklands.
According to him, the full cost of the construction and modifications will not go above the initial $7.1 billion, and the AFL and cricket will be allowed to continue playing at the Gabba “throughout the entire Games preparation” if it is not demolished.
