Inner-city sports precinct to be built for 2032 Olympic, Paralympic Games

A new inner-city sports precinct will be built between the old Albion Raceway and Crosby Park to revitalise local facilities and provide a venue for Olympic and Paralympic events.

Under the Breakfast Creek Sports Precinct plan, the raceway will be moved to another location and the new indoor sports centre will include facilities for basketball, netball, volleyball, goalball and badminton.

A Breakfast Creek Sports Precinct plan has been announced to revive the location where Albion Park Raceway is for the Olympics and Paralympics in 2032.

Brothers Rugby Union will move to the southern end of the precinct and provided with expanded facilities, including an additional playing field.

The Allan Border Field will keep its location and have additional seating, while baseball and multi-use sports fields will be constructed with a dog off-leash area.

Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said he was confident the precinct, to be built ahead of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, was one “we can all be proud of”.

“Our Breakfast Creek Sports Precinct plan can be part of that legacy by transforming an under-utilised and tired area of our city into a thriving precinct that would stage local, national and international sports events all year round,” he said.

“I believe we should seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and turn this unique 29-hectare site into a green inner-city multi-sports oasis that could be used by future generations.”

Racing Minister Grace Grace said they welcomed all input into the masterplan for Albion.

“We’d love to see something really have a legacy there at Albion and I know my board, the Racing Queensland board, has certainly been looking at alternate sites for the Albion Harness Racing Club,” she said.

“Of course we’re consulting widely and we welcome all ideas, including those of the BCC [council].

“As you know, there’s an infrastructure olympic committee that needs to look at this in detail and we welcome all ideas because we want the best outcome after the 2032 very exciting Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

The proposal also leaves unanswered questions over the future of nearby Perry Park, which is closer to Bowen Hills train station.

It remains to be seen whether there is community support for the plan. Another council proposal, to redevelop parklands and sporting facilities along Enoggera Creek, sparked a community backlash.

Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games chair Krista Adams said the Breakfast Creek Sports Precinct plan included an innovative proposal to keep the fields green.

“As every sporting club in Brisbane knows, keeping fields green throughout the year can be not only time-consuming but also costly,” she said.

“Under our plan, all fields across the entire Breakfast Creek Sports Precinct will be irrigated by an Urban Utilities water harvesting and reclamation system.

“This would deliver both financial and environmental sustainability outcomes for waste, water and energy right across the park.”