Stadium stalemate: Fears Gabba replacement won’t happen in time

A political stalemate is threatening to delay the state government’s controversial $137m RNA Showgrounds upgrade, raising fears the project won’t be ready before the Gabba is demolished.

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A political stalemate is threatening to delay the state government’s controversial $137m RNA Showgrounds upgrade, raising fears the project won’t be ready before the Gabba is demolished.

Negotiations between the state government, Brisbane City Council, AFL and Queensland Cricket over which organisations would contribute to the upgrade are understood to remain stalled.

Three of the four funding partners in the $137m project have indicated they won’t provide their share of the $76.3m demanded by the state government, leaving the future of the development uncertain.

Treasurer and Acting Sport Minister Cameron Dick also declared this week the state would not increase its $45.7m contribution to the project.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner labelled the state’s demand for cash to upgrade the showgrounds the final straw, and is continuing the push for an independent Olympic Games infrastructure authority.

It is understood the stalemate has prompted fears inside AFL and Queensland Cricket the RNA upgrade won’t be completed before demolition of the Gabba begins in late 2025.

The state government last week said work on the RNA Main Arena “must begin by next year to be ready for the 2025-26 cricket season and the 2026 start of the Gabba redevelopment”.

The $137m upgrade would create a permanent seating bowl below a temporary 20,000-seat grandstand at Machinery Hill.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner

Mr Schrinner’s call for the state to explore “good alternatives” to the Gabba project has also reignited community opposition.

A Greens-organised rally outside government headquarters at 1 William St on Thursday morning was followed by mayoral candidate Jonathan Sriranganathan’s interruption of a Gabba industry briefing presentation at the convention centre.

“In between presenters I stood up very briefly to highlight that community opposition to the project was still growing,” he told The Courier-Mail.

“I said due to the ongoing unpopularity … there was a high likelihood that protests would continue after designed contracts were signed.

“And there’s a high likelihood that companies who signed up would be subject to direct protests that would affect their reputation.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli has reiterated his pledge to review the $2.7bn Gabba development, noting an independent business case would be produced to determine whether a full demolition provided value-for-money.

“There should be a business case released to the public, that project is yet to receive our support and that’s been our consistent position,” he said.

“The government’s position on the Gabba has gone from $1bn to $2.7bn and yet there hasn’t been a skerrick of detail in terms of a business case produced.

“Until that occurs, there is no way that project will get our support.”