And the winner is ... Olympic basketball stadium site revealed

Kawana has beaten out Maroochydore as a 2032 Olympic basketball venue, in what the decision-makers promise will be a slam dunk for indoor sports on the Sunshine Coast.

The new stadium would have room for 11 courts, with the ability to be converted to a 6000-seat arena for major events.

The proposed arena (right) will be built next to an expanded Sunshine Coast Stadium.Credit: Sunshine Coast Council

Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson said Kawana was always the council’s preferred location for the stadium, which was expected to be completed by 2027 – five years ahead of the Games.

That put it at odds with federal MP Ted O’Brien and state MP Fiona Simpson, both members of the LNP, who argued for Olympic basketball to be leveraged to build a convention centre in the new Maroochydore CBD.

“We want to have a convention and exhibition centre in Maroochydore, and we want it to be attached to a large international hotel,” Jamieson said.

“We want it to stage major events on a regular basis, but if we’re doing that, there’s no room for the [community] sport.”

The convention centre initially formed part of the SEQ City Deal but was removed in 2021.

The indoor stadium would instead be built at an existing Kawana sports precinct, which includes the outdoor Sunshine Coast Stadium. Expansion plans for the existing stadium, which has been touted as a 2032 Olympic football venue, have long been in the works.

Jamieson said the expansion should begin next year, with work on the indoor stadium to begin in 2025.

Basketball Queensland chief executive Joshua Pascoe said he hoped the new facility would be as good for his sport as the Coomera Indoor Sports Centre, which was built for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.

“Gold Coast basketball went from the 10th-largest association in Queensland to the first within 18 months, growing by 2600 members,” he said.

As for how much the new facility would cost, Jamieson said that would be revealed “in good time” as the planning and design processes advanced.

While the state and federal governments have so far been unable to agree to a 50-50 Olympic funding model – due largely to expected cost blowouts at the Gabba – Jamieson said he expected his council to contribute to the cost, which was originally forecast at about $85 million.

“Clearly as a consequence of all the impacts of COVID, whether that’s materials or labour, data will now need to be reviewed,” he said.

“It’s fair to say that on current prices, it’s going to be more expensive.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Premier Steven Miles dismissed suggestions the selection of the Kawana site would have any effect on the business case for a heavy rail link to Maroochydore.

“Between the two sites, we didn’t see that that would have a material impact on the viability of heavy rail,” he said.

“We continue to have those studies underway to determine if, how and when we can deliver that level of public transport.”

For Jamieson, and the Council of Mayors (SEQ) of which he is a member, that rail link remains a priority.

“Obviously, we want a connection from Brisbane to Maroochydore, that is very important in terms of bringing people to Maroochydore,” he said.

“From conversations I’ve had with people in [the Department of Transport and Main Roads], and some of the diagrams they showed me, during the Games people will be able to board a train on the Gold Coast and get off at Maroochydore without having to change their seat.

“That will be great for Games time, but imagine what that’s like after the Games in terms of moving people around.”