Editorial: Andrew Liveris’ reason for backing Victoria Park

Andrew Liveris is absolutely right that Brisbane’s new stadium should be located at Victoria Park, writes the editor.

Andrew Liveris is absolutely right. With the Gabba nearing its end of life, constructing the new stadium that Brisbane needs at Victoria Park makes a lot of sense for a long list of reasons – and as the president of the Organising Committee, Mr Liveris has a serious dog in this fight.

A critical point to make is any new stadium would not be built for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It would be built because it is needed for football, cricket and for concerts and other events. The Games would be only a tenant for a few months, seven years from next year. But still, a new stadium is a critical part of Mr Liveris’ work – as he needs the ticketing revenue to make his balance sheet work.

Premier David Crisafulli has said consistently that it is his preference that a new stadium not be built. But he has also now put that decision in the hands of an expert review panel corralled for this very purpose – the make-up of which he announced at The Courier-Mail’s annual Future Brisbane event last Friday.

Also unveiled at that event were the terms of reference for that review and – as we have been advocating for in this column – they are sufficiently broad to allow these big decisions to be made by those experts and not politicians.

The terms of reference outline the scope for their 100-day review as being: new, upgraded and temporary venues; Olympic and Paralympic villages; transport infrastructure; Games governance.

On venues, it says the review team will be tasked with assessing the necessity, location, feasibility, delivery approach, overlay requirements and long-term impact of proposed venues and evaluating their connectivity to transport systems, training venues, and (athlete) villages.

And so, they are sufficiently broad to allow this team to do its work unconstrained by political imperatives. Indeed, the Premier leaned into that very point on stage at the event on Friday, when he said very clearly that the decision on venues was “over to them now” – and “there have been too many decisions made by politicians”.

Enter Mr Liveris, who told The Courier-Mail and Nova’s Toward the Games podcast on Thursday he thinks a new stadium should be built at Victoria Park under a public-private partnership model, like that used to fund the Perth Stadium. There, taxpayers covered 60 per cent of the upfront cost of construction – and then a private operator covered the remainder, with the government paying them a monthly concession for 25 years.

Mr Liveris said the greenfield Victoria Park site made sense for a range of reasons. Firstly, unlike the Gabba, it is not constrained by two major roads. The location was, he said, “pretty and beautiful”. There would also be better options there for important things like improved accessibility, transportation, and access points. Essentially, it ticks so many boxes that it is a no-brainer.

And then came the clincher. Mr Liveris said: “If I got a 30,000-seat temporary or refurbished stadium, I have a major problem with ticket sales.” The current capacity of the Gabba is about 35,000. Most of the proposals for a new stadium at Victoria Park have 60,000 seats.

The Courier-Mail’s position on this question has been consistent: that we believe that any decisions relating to the Games need to be made with the best legacy outcome top of mind. As this discussion continues, it is becoming obvious a new stadium at Victoria Park is the best outcome for delivering that.

AUSSIES MUST DIG DEEP

Rarely has an Australian cricket team been under so much pressure just one Test into a home summer.

Heading into a Border-Gavaskar series they were expected to dominate against a transitional Indian team, the Aussies were instead ambushed in Perth, losing by a massive 295 runs.

Indian 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal announced himself with an assured century, and just as worryingly legend Virat Kohli returned to form with a century of his own.

The Indian team will be even stronger for the Adelaide day-night Test starting today, while Australia has lost paceman Josh Hazlewood and our batters seem hopelessly out of their depth against Indian quick Jasprit Bumrah.

While fans have a right to feel nervous, they should also trust the process. Australian cricket did not become the historic powerhouse in the sport by jumping at shadows.

Wholesale changes to a losing side rarely happen, and when they do they are rarely successful.

The only way to turn this series around is to trust the men who lost the first Test to learn from that defeat and come up with strategies to counter India’s strengths.

While watching Queenslander Marnus Labuschagne struggle against Bumrah in Perth was painful, we know he has worked diligently in the nets and if he fails again in Adelaide, it won’t be through lack of effort.

C’mon Aussies. We believe you can do it.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here