Editorial: Brisbane Arena would bring events to heart of city

An inner-city Brisbane Arena would replace the centre at Boondall and attract artists of the calibre of Kylie Minogue, Drake and Billie Eilish, writes the editor.

The Brisbane Arena (left) is part of a new Gabba Olympic precinct concept by HAL Architects.

One aspect of the plan for new venues ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games that goes far too often unremarked upon is the new indoor arena.

This 17,000-seat facility would replace the 38-year-old Boondall Entertainment Centre.

It is perhaps the best example of infrastructure that our capital city needs that is being brought forward as a result of hosting the Games.

It is being funded by the federal government and was originally slated to be built over the new underground Cross River Rail station at inner-city Roma St – a plan that proved too expensive, and so a rethink suggested it be built nearby at the Normanby Fiveways end of the Roma Street Parkland.

But this week’s unveiling of a proposal for the Gabba precinct from Hayes Anderson Lynch Architects reminds us there are other options for its location.

Their proposal – beyond rebuilding the Gabba as a 55,000-seat stadium on its current site – is that the old Go Print precinct that is now the construction site for the Woolloongabba Cross River Rail station becomes the home of this new indoor arena.

It is an idea that really does make sense. The so-called Brisbane Arena – or Brisbane Live – is to be used as the venue for swimming during the Games (with a drop-in pool) before taking its place permanently as the new Boondall, but in the inner-city rather than half-an-hour north of it.

It will be one of the chief legacy outcomes of the Games, as it will be where the big non-stadium acts play – as well as home to all the other events currently held at Boondall.

Think Kylie Minogue, Drake, Billie Eilish, Freestyle Kings, Monster Truck Mania and Torvill and Dean (all are due to appear at Boondall over the next six months).

Boondall itself will become more of a space for community events – and it will be perfect for that, with its acres of car parking and easy access to the Gateway Motorway.

Gabba Olympic Precinct stadium render, designed by HAL Architects

Meanwhile, the fact the new arena is in the inner-city will mean the economic benefits are amplified, as people before and after their ticketed event will be right there within walking distance of the CBD.

Enter the Woolloongabba site. As the previous government said so often when it was proposing knocking down and rebuilding the Gabba, the new Cross River Rail underground station there has been designed for moving lots of people quickly – and the next stop just a couple of minutes away will be the new station right in the centre of town, near where Festival Hall was.

For that reason alone, it makes much more sense than the current proposal of the back end of Roma Street Parkland – which will require crowds to disperse along a new walkway down to the station, and then for them to walk a fair distance to reach the CBD.

Regardless of where its eventual location is, the Arena definitely fits the definition of the “New Norms” approach to Games-related infrastructure as defined by the International Olympic Committee – as a response to concerns billions of dollars was being spent by host cities on venues solely for the event.

The New Norms principle is not – and was never – about saying new venues should not be built. Instead, it grants more flexibility to host cities so they can use existing – or already planned – infrastructure more easily for the Games. The IOC says it means host cities can design their Games “to meet long-term development goals”.

What this means for Brisbane is that we can build the venues we think should be built, and the IOC will make fewer demands on what other features they need to have – solely for the two weeks they are the tenant. It is a way for host cities to deliver legacy without wasting cash.

Brisbane needs a new Boondall. There are no arguments about that. There is also consensus that this new indoor facility should be in the CBD. Maybe Woolloongabba?

SANITY BACK AT WORK

The first signs that sanity is starting to prevail in the state’s construction industry have emerged – with the contracted Cross River Rail builder CPB having finally this week won the backing of its workers for a new workplace agreement that is an overdue victory for commonsense.

The new agreement gives workers a 5 per cent pay rise – with back pay for at least some of the 14 months the dispute has been going.

But it will not include the equivalent of a special heat policy at the heart of the controversial Best Practice Industry Conditions that the former government so willingly granted to CFMEU workers on big public construction projects.

Under that heat policy, workers down tools if it reaches 29C with 75 per cent humidity. It was breached yesterday in Brisbane, for example, from 11am – a normal summer day.

These sorts of conditions being entered into workplace agreements by an acquiescent government saw productivity in the Queensland’s critical construction industry fall dramatically in the dying years of the Palaszczuk-Miles governments.

With a new sheriff now in town, workers have clearly woken up to the reality that the extortion racket their union – the CFMEU – had so successfully operated has ended.

Of course, safety remains critical, but so is just getting the job done.

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