Fate of police Roma St headquarters revealed in Qld’s ‘secret’ 2032 Olympics plan

Brisbane’s flagship $2.5bn 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics venue is a significant step closer, with the government making a major call on its location.

Queensland Police’s Roma St headquarters will avoid demolition when construction begins on the $2.5bn Brisbane Arena, confidential plans reveal.

Construction of the arena, slated to host swimming and water polo at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics, was expected to result in the demolition of Queensland Police’s Roma St headquarters and nearby arrests court.

Documents sent by the state government to prospective developers and designers indicate it will push ahead with plans to build the 17,000-seat Brisbane Arena above the Roma St railway.

They were sent as part of a new market-sounding process – the first significant step in building Brisbane Games infrastructure.

Queensland Police headquarters on Roma St. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Dan Peled

The sounding process will seek views from industry about what builders could tender for the project and ultimately determine how Brisbane Arena will be built.

Queensland Police’s Roma St headquarters – which houses operational support and executive officers across the road from the station – was in the firing line last year when the cost of building the arena above the rail network raised eyebrows.

However, the deal struck between the state and federal government over the funding of the site will see Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stump up $2.5bn to build the arena on the Roma St train station site – likely sparing the police headquarters.

Queensland Police, which is also relocating some services from Oxley to Wacol, said the organisation “continually reviews the housing of those sections assigned to police headquarters to support future demand and operational capability”.

An artist's impression of Brisbane Arena for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and Paralympics under the Live Nation plan. Image: Supplied

“The police headquarters will not be impacted by the relocation of certain functions from Oxley to Wacol and while the QPS is unable to comment on planning arrangements for the Brisbane Arena, it is expected that police headquarters will remain the home for police support functions and corporate executives into the future,” a spokesman said.

In a major step towards construction, a Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning spokeswoman said a business case was under way between the federal and Queensland governments for the Brisbane Arena development.

“To help inform the joint business case, market sounding has commenced,” she said.

“Market sounding is a standard process for major infrastructure projects, where industry is engaged early on a range of aspects such as procurement, market conditions and practical delivery of the project.”

The department is expected to present its findings by the end of the year ahead of a decision to proceed to procurement in early 2024.

ASM Global executive chairman and chief executive Harvey Lister.

It is understood the final location of the Brisbane Arena footprint will be confirmed following the completion of the joint business case.

Construction on Brisbane Arena is slated to start in 2027 and finish in 2030, two years before Brisbane 2032.

The Brisbane Arena precinct is expected to include new retail and dining sites.

How the Brisbane Arena project will be delivered remains uncertain, with Harvey Lister’s ASM Global and entertainment promoter Live Nation thought to be frontrunners.

Mr Lister is understood to hold the intellectual property over the development, while Live Nation has previously argued it could use private-equity funding to build the project and minimise the cost to taxpayers.