Harrup Park Great Barrier Reef Arena still yet to secure funding commitment

Despite both major parties having expressed interest in plans for a major sporting project, neither have made any funding commitment. Read why Mackay tourism and sporting leaders say it must go ahead.

A catalytic sporting precinct is at risk of never getting off the ground as potential leaders duck committing to the project’s funding.

Great Barrier Reef Arena’s stage 2 development could become a sports training ground for the world’s elite athletes in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

The expansion is also expected to generate $11.8m in turnover and deliver a $4.8m increase in Mackay’s gross regional product, as well as almost 120 jobs during construction and operation.

Harrup Park general manager Adrian Young, at the 2032 Olympics Planning Summit on Tuesday, put forward the stage 2 expansion as a hub for Mackay’s involvement and share in the world’s greatest sporting event.

The summit identified the collaborative approach Mackay needed to ensure the region was positioned to be as involved as it could be in the sporting spectacular, with improving infrastructure and resources a main issue.

Former Olympian and current Australian Olympic Committee member Mark Stockwell said Mackay and the Whitsundays could separate itself from other regional centres to share in $10bn from the 2032 games.

Mr Young, while promoting the GBRA project as a major player in the Olympic goal, said it was important key projects across the region collaborated to bring elite athletes to Mackay.

“Our growing regional population and central Queensland location sees Mackay ideally placed to become a vital regional centre for community sports, education and training from grassroots to elite, for people of all abilities,” Mr Young said.

But candidates vying for Dawson remain non-committed to financially backing the project which has key community leaders fearing Mackay could miss out on vital funding to get it off the ground.

The external design for stage two of the Great Barrier Reef Arena development. Picture: Harrup Park

Rydges general manager Fiona Okpalogu said investing in Harrup Park and the expansion would improve Mackay’s broader tourism economy, which Mackay Tourism outlined in its supporting statement for the stage 2 project.

“All event infrastructure and sporting infrastructure is really going to help the visitor economy in Mackay,” she said.

“Infrastructure like Harrup Park brings people to the region.”

Mrs Okpalogu has been in hospitality for 25 years, almost three of them in Mackay.

She said the city’s visitor market tilted towards business and vacancy rates were healthy in the midweek.

Weekend stays, however, were “substantially softer” with Mackay often overlooked in favour of Airlie Beach and Townsville in the leisure market.

She said Harrup Park could help Mackay catch more of this market.

“It helps put us on the map,” she said.

Mackay Airport head of operations Adrian Miles said the state of the art facilities would do “magnificent things for the entire region”.

“Previous events we have had, the cricket and the AFLW, we’ve seen excited people visiting from Brisbane for the game dressed in their colours,” Mr Miles said.

“From the other side of things, it gives Mackay Airport more support when we go to airlines to add additional flights.

“So, it works both ways. Yes, passengers will come in but it also helps us get more people out.

“It’s not just for Harrup Park, it’s great for the whole Mackay economy and everybody in the supply chain benefits.”

The plans feature two high ball courts, indoor cricket and AFL training facilities, gym and fitness facilities, a hydrotherapy pool and dormitory accommodation.

Mackay’s netballers are among the potential user groups to benefit from the development.

Mackay Netball Association chairwoman Allison Bugeja said the sport was crying out for a home.

“We deliver a great sport in Mackay and that’s obvious by the amount of participants that we have every year and it increases rapidly as well,” Ms Bugeja said.

“Our main concern is being comparable to the southeast corner netball associations and then comparing us to closer places like Townsville and Rockhampton, the facilities that they have access to, are far and away better than what Mackay even has to offer.”

Mackay netball has hoped to secure a team spot in Netball Queensland’s Ruby Series since it was removed from the competition in 2019.

Ms Bugeja said right now they were not in a position to even be considered.

Townsville have the Northern Mendi Rays in the Sapphire Series due to. Picture: Supplied

“We need to be able to say that we can provide an indoor venue for training, home games, gym and rehabilitation,” she said.

“It’s just not possible to have that sort of commitment and space here and we don’t want to see our great players moving away to another town to compete at the highest level of competition they can.

“When the Northern Rays came down to have a trial session so that our local players could try out, we couldn’t even get an indoor stadium to trial and the girls trained outside in the rain which limited the whole trial.”

The funding for the project requires a joint $20m commitment from both the federal and state governments and Harrup Park hopes to secure a pledge before election day on May 21.

Labor Party resources spokeswoman Madeleine King toured the Stage 1 works on Monday.

She said the current development and future plans at Harrup Park were “enormously impressive”, but stressed an independent board would assess Mackay’s future projects on merit alone.

The project — estimated to cost $15-$20m — would place Mackay in a prime position to host elite sport ahead of the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics in Brisbane.