Brisbane’s no-frills Olympics stadium will embarrass Australia on world stage
Brisbane risks embarrassing Australia on the world stage in 2032 if it sticks with a lacklustre no-frills athletics stadium in the suburbs, an Olympic great has warned.
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Premier Steven Miles has remained adamant that QSAC is Queensland’s best stadium option going into the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games despite gold medallist Sally Pearson warning the 40,000 seat arena would not cut it on the world stage.
Pearson, a gold medal hurdler, also slammed the state’s planned premier venue at the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic games as a real vibe kill — noting it will have space for just 40,000 spectators.
“If Brisbane organisers want to avoid embarrassing Australia on the world stage they have a long way to go,” she said.
Defending the government’s choice to pursue the small $1.6bn stadium over more expensive options at Victoria Park and the Gabba, Mr Miles said QSAC offered the best legacy and had been explicitly put forward by International Olympics Committee Vice President John Coates.
“The IOC is pretty good at running the Olympics, they’ve been doing it for a while now, and I’ll continue to take their counsel,” he said.
“This is the only option that provides an ongoing legacy for athletics, a permanent racing track and facilities for track and field. I think it’s a good option.”
Mr Miles said alternative stadium proposals only offered a new cricket oval and would not deliver anything for athletics.
Paris’s Stade de France seated some 80,000 people at this year’s Games, double than what will be offered at QSAC, while the century-old Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will host 77,500 people in 2028.
Her stark warning eight years before Brisbane is showcased to the world comes as the 2024 Paris Olympics wrapped up with a star-studded closing ceremony that included Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise leaping from the roof of the Stade de France.
The glitz and glamour of Paris 2024, with its backdrop of the Eiffel Tower and Pont d’Alene, will now make way for Los Angeles — the home of Hollywood – for the 2028 Games.
Pearson’s comments add to a growing chorus of concern from Queensland’s sporting elite, who worry that the current infrastructure plans could fall short of global expectations.
Olympic swimmer Cate Campbell, speaking to Nova’s Ash Bradnam, David ‘Luttsy’ Lutteral, and Susie O’Neill on Tuesday morning, didn’t hold back in her assessment of the challenges Brisbane faces, echoing Pearson’s grave concerns about Brisbane’s preparedness for the 2032 Olympics.
Drawing comparisons to the recently concluded Paris Olympics, she emphasised the need for Brisbane to step up its game.
“Having had a look at Paris, we need to really have a big think about what we’re going to do and where we’re going to host things,” she said.
In a stark reminder that the eyes of the world will be on Brisbane, Campbell urged the government to think bigger, bolder, and more proactively.
“We need our government to think proactively. Brisbane and South East Queensland is only going to grow and get bigger – And how can we use these Olympic Games to set things up to the future for the growth of the city?”
Campbell also took aim at the budget concerns that have dominated the discussion, dismissing them as shortsighted in the face of global expectations.
“I know that cost of living is an issue, and that building stadiums and venues are expensive, but what I witnessed in Paris was incredible, and the legacy that those games are going to give that city is going to extend, well and truly beyond the Olympics, and well and truly beyond the Paralympics,” she said.
As the clock ticks down to 2032, the pressure is mounting on Brisbane to deliver a world-class event. Campbell’s rallying cry is clear: Brisbane must define what makes it unique and showcase that to the world, or risk fading into the background of Olympic history
“We don’t have an Eiffel Tower, but we do have things that are unique to us,” Campbell said.
“Now we get to think about what makes Brisbane unique and special and what we want to show off to the world.
“Yes, his is expensive now, but for the future of this state and the future of the people here, this is going to be an asset to us.
“I just think that we need more people to be thinking like that – we do still have eight years, but the clock is ticking.”
Pearson, writing for news.com.au, warned sports fans would go from watching the fastest men and women in the world race at the 80,000 seat Stade de France, to Los Angeles’ 77,500 capacity Memorial Coliseum to Mt Gravatt’s Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre.
At 40,000 seats — only 14,000 of which are permanent — QSAC will be the smallest athletics venue at an Olympic Games for more than a century.
“What will we see at the Brisbane Olympics in 2032, which will also be showcased to millions of TV viewers across the world?” she said.
“Australians pride themselves on their sporting prowess, we boast that we love our sport, we always enjoy a big event and we always love to support a big event.
“Brisbane will have a lot to live up to particularly for the number one Olympic sport to give the athletes what they deserve which is, the crowds electric atmosphere.”
Brisbane’s winning pitch to host the 2032 Games included a rebuild of the Gabba, at proposed cost of $1bn, to host the athletics events and opening and closing ceremonies.
But while the IOC was told the Gabba redevelopment would cost an estimated $1bn, a detailed business case in 2023 ultimately concluded the true cost was $2.7bn--- an increase of 170 per cent.
Premier Steven Miles, taking the top job in December, quickly abandoned the Gabba plan but controversially also rejected a proposal for a new $3.4bn stadium at Victoria Park in Brisbane’s inner-city.
It comes as Olympic kingmaker John Coates, vice president of Brisbane’s Games organising committee, defended the QSAC option and declared the city would “match” the wonderful venues in Paris.
Brisbane’s winning pitch to host the 2032 Games included a rebuild of the Gabba, at proposed cost of $1bn, to host the athletics events and opening and closing ceremonies.
But while the IOC was told the Gabba redevelopment would cost an estimated $1bn, a detailed business case in 2023 ultimately concluded the true cost was $2.7bn--- an increase of 170 per cent.
Premier Steven Miles, taking the top job in December, quickly abandoned the Gabba plan but controversially also rejected a proposal for a new $3.4bn stadium at Victoria Park in Brisbane’s inner-city.
Originally published as Brisbane’s no-frills Olympics stadium will embarrass Australia on world stage
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