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Brisbane puts in formal offer to buy factory for Olympics broadcasting venue
By Cloe Read
A formal offer has been made by Brisbane’s council to buy a West End factory to host a broadcasting centre for the 2032 Olympics.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner on Tuesday told ABC Radio that council had made a formal offer to purchase the Montague Road site, where a glass factory sits.
The Visy glass factory on Montague Road in West End.
“We have made a formal offer to purchase the site,” he said. “We’re waiting for the approval. It’s progressing through.
“We’re hopeful for a positive outcome very soon.”
The IOC’s International Host Commission’s report shows the 2032 International Broadcasting Centre on Montague Road at South Brisbane.Credit: IOC Host Commission Report.
Earlier this year, the site was flagged as the venue for the International Broadcast Centre, with an Olympics report saying the 57,000 square metre property would offer an “attractive location within walking distance of five venues” and would meet the needs of the IBC.
In July, Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick said it “sent the wrong signal” to discuss closing down industrial estates and putting workers out of jobs “six days into a 4000-day project”.
Cr Schrinner on Tuesday said the factory had another site in south-east Queensland to which it could be relocated.
“Any arrangement that we would enter there would allow them to stay for a period of a number of years, so they can have their alternative facility being constructed. So, we’ll be very reasonable with that,” he said.
The IBC site could give television stations the incentive to move their operations off Mt Coot-Tha, with the broadcasters now no longer needing to be on the mountain. The Olympics is said to be the catalyst for the move.
Meanwhile, Cr Schrinner said he had not “had any discussion” regarding documents held by Brisbane’s Olympics committee being kept secret.
Proposed legislation would allow the committee to be exempt from parts of the state’s Right to Information Act.
“Look, I haven’t had any discussion on this, so I am not aware of any reasons why they would need to be kept secret,” he said.
“No one’s actually raised it with me in the discussions I’ve had. It’s a bit of a mystery to me as well.
“Obviously happy to have those discussions, but I can’t think of any reasons off the top of my head why these documents need to be secret.”