Football to push for Brisbane 2032 Olympic legacy

Football Australia will push for a boutique Brisbane stadium as it makes its pitch for a legacy venue from the 2032 Olympic Games.

In a sore point for Brisbane’s football community, the Gabba was rebuilt for the Sydney 2000 Olympic football tournament, but left no legacy for the game. Instead, to cricket and AFL went the spoils.

Football Australia chief executive in Brisbane on Tuesday.Credit: Glenn Hunt/Getty Images

The Gabba will once again be rebuilt for the Olympics, while rugby union was set to benefit from a refurbishment of Ballymore, which was touted in 2032 bid documents as a Games hockey venue.

That was despite the Queensland government’s Stadiums Taskforce 2018 report finding that Ballymore, in the middle of Brisbane suburbia, did “not meet contemporary standards for access”.

Football Australia chief executive James Johnson said the 2032 Olympic Games provided an opportunity for his sport to stake a claim for a custom venue in Brisbane, but his organisation’s focus was for now on next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Brisbane will host eight World Cup matches at Suncorp Stadium, including a quarter-final and the third-place play-off.

“We’re seeing stadium upgrades to stadiums in Perth, in Adelaide and we’re hoping that will also get a home of football somewhere, where the whole game can call home,” Johnson said.

“We already have a high-performance centre in Melbourne in the home of the Matildas, so there is a lot of legacy through the Women’s World Cup.

“The Olympics is a ways away, but as soon as we move out of the Women’s World Cup focus around legacy, there’ll be a strong push from football, towards governments, around what kind of legacy football can receive through the Olympics.

“Because football is a big part of the Olympics.”

Last week, Brisbane Roar announced a homecoming of sorts, returning to Suncorp Stadium for three matches in the 2022-23 season after playing at Redcliffe’s Moreton Daily Stadium for two seasons.

However, a lack of availability at the Suncorp Stadium— there will be Guns N’ Roses, Justin Bieber, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ed Sheeran concerts during the A-League season, along with the Nitro World Games over an entire weekend — limited the number of matches that could be played in their namesake city.

While that highlighted the need for a secondary venue in Brisbane, Queensland Sports Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said that was “unlikely to happen” in the short to medium term.

“We want to see good dedicated facilities, particularly if you can see more national programs in Queensland — that’s one of the ambitions one of the legacy aims of the government in relation to 2032 overall,” he said.

“It’s about having national programs based here, so we look forward to continued good conversations with football about that.”

But when presented with the prospect of Queensland’s spiritual home of football, Perry Park, being upgraded for Olympic hockey to take advantage of its public transport links — every train line goes through Bowen Hills station, right across the road — Hinchliffe left the door open for a change in approach.

The Brisbane Strikers planned a 15,000-seat stadium at Perry Park when the club was preparing its failed A-League bid.

“In terms of venues for the Games, they are matters that will be ultimately matters that the organising committee will consider,” he said.

“The bid documents are the bid documents, but that doesn’t mean they won’t change.

“We’ve seen significant change in other things, so proposals like that [Perry Park] are certainly worth considering.”

Spectator facilities at Perry Park date back to the 1970s, and corporate facilities are almost non-existent.

Comment was sought from Brisbane Roar.

Johnson was in Brisbane this week to announce two international matches at Suncorp Stadium.

The Matildas will take on Canada on Saturday, September 3, while the Socceroos will play New Zealand in a centenary match on Thursday, September 22.

Both matches will go on sale next week.