Olympic supremo: Enough talk, let the Games building begin

Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games president Andrew Liveris has urged all political sides to back the imminent findings of Graham Quirk’s venue infrastructure review – and get building.

• Editor’s view: No time to waste

Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games president Andrew Liveris has urged all political sides to back the imminent findings of Graham Quirk’s venue infrastructure review – and get building.

The organising committee boss said he held concerns over lost time and with a week to go until the former Lord Mayor would deliver his Games recommendations, it was “time to move forward as one”.

“I hope we can have universal alignment from all levels of government and both sides of the aisle on the need to move quickly to implementation,” he said.

“We remain concerned with the reduced timelines for venue and infrastructure delivery.

“We have been fully supportive of the independent infrastructure review and the reasons for it taking place. Our focus has always been for the Games to fit the region, not the region fitting the Games.”

Mr Liveris said the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee, along with sporting organisations, professional leagues, business and community leaders, had fully co-operated with the review and presented to Mr Quirk.

“We reaffirmed that investment decisions should be made in the best interests of the growing population and aspirations of its community, not for the Games,” he said.

“We also stressed that any changes need to align with the Olympic Host Contract obligations and that post release of the recommendations it is imperative we finalise these changes with the international sport federations, the International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Committee.

“The Games will be the biggest event in Queensland’s history, delivering significant economic and social impacts and benefits across communities. We look forward to continuing our work with all delivery partners to ensure that the Games are a moment we can all be proud of.”

Hopes are high that Mr Quirk – who was a key architect in launching Brisbane’s plans to bid for the event – would recommend more than a cut-price Games.

Committee for Brisbane president Kristan Conlon said it was crucial Mr Quirk’s recommendations for venue plans remained “ambitious”.

“We want to see something that we can be proud of and that will leave a real legacy for Brisbane – a city which is growing fast,” she said.

“Something like the Brisbane Bold plan is an example of something really cool and ambitious.

“Let’s also not waste our opportunity to get our share of the federal money that we were promised.”

Brisbane Olympics boss Andrew Liveris

The Courier-Mail in recent weeks has been airing ideas put to Mr Quirk’s review – a review set up by Premier Steven Miles in what has been largely seen as a politically astute way of backing out of the unpopular $2.7bn Gabba rebuild.

Among them were proposals to re-imagine Victoria Park with new stadiums and event precincts, commit to an upgrade of Suncorp Stadium and create a new arena at the Gabba.

Olympic supremo John Coates was first off the blocks, revealing his vision to dump the existing plans in favour of holding the Opening and Closing ceremonies at Suncorp Stadium, and the athletics at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre.

Mr Coates’ extraordinary comments to the The Courier-Mail that the plans to knockdown the Gabba stadium – as signed off by Cabinet – didn’t stack up was seen as the final blow to the idea.

Instead, he said missteps by the state government in promoting venue upgrades meant the Olympics were now “on the nose in Brisbane”.

“We’ve put it to the review committee we should abandon the Gabba and we should look for another site for the athletics,” Mr Coates told The Courier-Mail.

“What’s required at the Gabba is a total knockdown and rebuild, and I keep stressing the Olympic movement is being blamed by the local parents and residents and the Greens for the whole of the cost.”

The view of Mr Coates was followed by businessman and former South Bank chairman Steve Wilson’s “golden triangle” proposal – a 50,000 seat stadium at Victoria Park, an 18,000-seat Madison Square Garden-style replacing the Gabba, and an upgrade to boost Suncorp Stadium to 65,000 seats.

Mr Wilson told The Courier-Mail he “couldn’t sit by and watch us have the worst own goal and run with a cut-price Olympics … having waited 30 years since Sydney for our chance to shine”.

“These dollars of expenditure are simply bringing forward to a deadline what are necessary anyway,” he said.

“We’ve got to call it out because you can get these cheap points by saying we’ll slash the price and pour it into public housing – this is dedicated venue money.”

Last week, architect firm Archipelago’s founder Peter Edwards revealed his Brisbane Bold plan to transform Victoria Park into a huge 90ha events and sporting precinct including a 70,000-seat stadium and an indoor arena.

“If we sand it all back and don’t spend any money I think we’re going to be bitterly disappointed that we missed this once-ever opportunity to think big and bold about our city,” he said.

Originally published as Olympic supremo: Enough talk, let the Games building begin