Australian Institute of Sport makes bid to move to the Sunshine State

The Australian Institute of Sport has made a secret attempt to relocate from Canberra to Queensland, with key figures backing the move. VOTE IN OUR POLL

Olympics supremo John Coates has backed calls for the Australian Institute of Sport to be relocated from Canberra to Brisbane as a key building block for a successful 2032 Games.

The Courier-Mail can today reveal the AIS has previously made a formal, but until-now secret, relocation approach to the Queensland government – with Mr Coates supportive of the call.

While the move would have to receive the blessing of the Federal Government, a spokesman for Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was “an example of how the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games is already attracting the attention of those who want to invest in Queensland”.

John Coates Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

Mr Coates agreed it made sense: “The warmer weather is a factor that made Queensland attractive for many of our teams for pre-departure camps leading into Tokyo,” he said

The AIS approach to the state was first made in 2018. It is understood the proposal – worth upwards of $50 million – would be to shift the headquarters and high performance centre to what would be a new world-class sporting hub at Chandler or QEII Stadium.

The AIS operates as a hub and spoke model, with most sports already headquartered outside Canberra. But some are now also considering a shift to Queensland, separate to the AIS proposal.

Federal Sport Minister Richard Colbeck has not ruled out the prospect of ticking off the institute’s relocation to Brisbane.

He revealed a detailed business case for the “potential redevelopment” of the AIS site in Canberra had been undertaken.

QEII Stadium.

“The business case is providing the opportunity for intensive investigation of the costs and benefits of options for the future of the AIS site,” he said.

“The Government is still considering what the AIS footprint will look like in the future,” he said.

Former Australian Sports Commission chair John Wylie believed the Australian Institute of Sport should also be relocated to Brisbane.

“The Olympics and Paralympics, 2032 is a moment of opportunity for Australian sport and two things would be great to capitalise on that; one more would be more investment in the next generation of athletes and secondly, investing in a new AIS,” Wylie said last month.

“I personally think the AIS should be based in southeast Queensland. I think that’s the right place for athletes … I think it’d be a fantastic legacy.”

Mr Coates said it would be a matter for individual sports to determine whether they move north.

Australian gymnast Chris Remkes training at the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra.

“Putting to one side the administration, the sports innovation hub and all those other AIS services – this really at the end of the day needs to be something the sports that the institutes has best suits them,” he said.

“There’s a lot of factors and the AOC’s position is the AIS has a responsibility that all Australian sport is to be serviced.”

Mr Coates was part of the decision-making team to centralise sports in the nation’s capital.

“There’s some benefit being in Canberra because it’s where the money comes from,” he said.