‘Travesty’: Tennis Queensland fears southern shift for Games’ events

With the 100-day review findings set to be released in nine days, state and national tennis bodies said Melbourne could host the sport’s 2032 Olympic and Paralympic events, unless the Queensland Tennis Centre got an upgrade.

Tennis Queensland chief executive Cameron Pearson said it would be impossible to host events in the Queensland Tennis Centre unless the facility was given additional capacity, courts, and another arena before 2032.

“We don’t have enough seating, and the facilities are not big enough,” he said.

Tennis Queensland said the submission it lodged for an upgraded centre included “minimal upgrades”.Credit: Blight Rayner Architecture

“There are no other facilities that could warrant the Olympic Games in Queensland. We’re doing what we think is minimal to host an Olympic and Paralympic Games that we can be proud of.”

Pearson said if the centre wasn’t upgraded for 2032, the tennis events “could only go to one place” – Melbourne Park.

“It would be very disappointing – a travesty – if we weren’t able to host the Olympics and the Paralympic Games here,” he said.

On Sunday, Premier David Crisafulli confirmed the government had been in discussions with Tennis Queensland since the review was handed down last weekend.

“The Games have got to be about legacy, and part of that involves your larger state-based facilities, part of that involves grassroots facilities,” he said.

“But I want Queenslanders to know that the plan that will roll out at the end of this month will be a plan they can be proud of.”

Tennis Australia – which Pearson said had been working “hand in glove” with Tennis Queensland – said the centre was “crucial to the success of the Games”, but confirmed that in the absence of upgrades, a Melbourne venue would be on the table.

“As the only Queensland venue capable of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic tennis events in 2032 … we believe it should be held there,” a Tennis Australia spokeswoman said.

Changes to the Queensland Tennis Centre would include additional courts and another stadium, as well as more seats.Credit: Blight Rayner Architecture

“However, it currently does not meet the necessary standards.”

The plan for the Queensland Tennis Centre – jointly lodged in the 100-day review by both tennis bodies – retains most existing infrastructure, adds a new arena, and increases temporary and permanent seating capacity by a factor of thousands.

“We don’t believe we’ve gone overboard in terms of the requirements,” Pearson said.

“We’ve worked with the International Tennis Federation to come up with a plan that has been acceptable to them.

“[The plan] would ensure that [between] ... Pat Rafter Arena, plus a new one, plus the outside court seating – which will all be temporary – we can get somewhere close to what we need.”

He said the International Tennis Federation required an arena that could seat 10,000 people, as well as smaller arenas with seating capacities of 5000 and 3000 each.

The Queensland Tennis Centre’s main arena – the Pat Rafter Arena – has 5500 permanent seats.

Pearson added the proposed upgrades aligned with the International Olympic Committee’s “new norms”, which steer host cities away from expensive facilities that are unlikely to be used for future events.

“We don’t need something that can seat 14,000 people … I think we’ve got a great stadium here in Pat Rafter Arena, [but] if we can get a second arena, that would be fantastic, and we can build temporary seats for all the other courts,” Pearson said.

The Queensland Tennis Centre hosts the Brisbane International – founded in 2009 a year after it was built – which broke attendance records in December last year.

Across the event’s eight days, 100,333 people attended, and four sessions broke all-time attendance records.

The Games Independent Infrastructure and Co-ordination Authority’s review findings are set to be released on March 25.

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