Editorial: Brisbane needs a new stadium at RNA Showgrounds

Annastacia Palaszczuk last year dismissed the idea, but perhaps it is time to rethink where Brisbane’s next stadium should go, writes the Editor.

Next week marks nine years until the Opening Ceremony of the Brisbane Olympic Games.

It still seems a long way off, and in many ways it is.

But there is a significant issue that must be resolved sooner rather than later – where the Brisbane Lions in the AFL will play for the years the Gabba is being demolished and rebuilt.

That demolition is due to begin in 2½ years.

It will mean the Gabba will not exist as a venue from the start of 2026 until at the very least the end of 2029.

That means that for four seasons, the Lions will be without a home ground.

And the biggest concern is that there is currently no solution.

Four options have been assessed – Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast, the Lions’ training ground at Springfield near Ipswich, the main arena at the RNA showgrounds in the city, and the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre (formerly ANZ and QEII Stadium) at Nathan.

None is ideal. Two would require new stands to be constructed. One isn’t even in Brisbane.

It is a headache for the AFL and a massive one for the club – which faces not so much reduced ticket revenue (the government will likely have to cover the difference), but the prospect of severe damage being done to its brand awareness in this rugby league city.

A concept for the Gabba Olympic stadium

Cricket plans to upgrade its Allan Border Field facility at Albion for those between-Ashes Test matches in the years the Gabba will be out of action, and will likely take more “home” Big Bash games to the Gold Coast and regional cities.

Of all the options, The Courier-Mail has long been a fan of the RNA upgrade.

The reasons are numerous, and start with the most obvious one: that the historic Main Arena (where Sir Donald Bradman played his first ever Test match in 1928) is locked in as the venue for the showjumping and dressage events in 2032, and so at the very least the government will have to bring up to modern accessibility standards the old grandstands there, and install temporary stands to lift the seated capacity and to meet basic Olympic standards.

But to just deliver a temporary solution would be a massive missed opportunity.

You can currently squeeze about 20,000 people into the Main Arena’s existing bench seating – as happens on the big nights during the annual Ekka.

A more permanent solution could therefore easily seat that same number, and there is plenty of space to open the playing field up a bit on the Machinery Hill end to make it big enough for AFL.

That capacity is on the small side for the Lions, but not by much.

The club’s average attendance at the Gabba since 1997 has been 23,960 – and the average was sub-20,000 for five seasons from 2014.

The main arena at Brisbane’s RNA Showgrounds

And so playing at a small – dare we say boutique – venue would not be a ridiculous outcome.

But the biggest opportunity here is a legacy one.

An RNA stadium could become the home of elite women’s sport in Queensland, with that crowd capacity perfect to support the growth of the AFLW and international cricket.

Being a smaller oval venue, the NRLW could also happily play games there – and regularly sell it out.

The venue would also support the state government’s massive investment in Cross River Rail, with the RNA station to become a permanent stop on the Citytrain network when that comes online in 2026 (again, perfect timing).

And the venue would be smack bang in the middle of a government priority development area – meaning it will continue to be developed over coming decades, and so there will be plenty of pre and post-game options for fans.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk last year dismissed the idea of an RNA stadium.

Perhaps it is time for a rethink – the creation of the home of elite women’s sport would provide the perfect excuse, it would deliver tangible legacy, be relatively cheap – and it would be popular.

STATE SET FOR MAROONS CLEAN SWEEP

Regardless of what happens tonight in State of Origin Game Three at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, our Maroons will finish the night as winners.

Winners of the Origin series, thanks to a close win over the Blues in the first game in Adelaide, and a thrashing at Suncorp Stadium three weeks ago.

It means Queensland has won the shield in three of the past four series during a time that most experts (south of the border of course) were predicting an era of NSW dominance.

But as we know, Billy Slater’s Maroons won’t want to settle for anything less than a clean sweep.

But that goal is one of the hardest things to achieve in footy.

Even during Queensland’s decade of dominance, they only managed one clean sweep, in 2010, the last time the feat has been achieved.

That team, one of the greatest to ever take the field, included Slater, Cameron Smith and Johnathan Thurston – the coaching brains trust of this team.

As Maroons skipper Daly Cherry-Evans said yesterday: “We haven’t reached our final destination yet.”

Go Maroons!

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