Swimming at Suncorp? How Qld can maximise Games windfall

Holding swimming at Suncorp Stadium and basketball at a 17,000 seat Brisbane Arena should be the priority according to those who want Queensland to truly cash in on the Olympics.

Our swimmers could race for gold at Suncorp Stadium. Pic: Michael Klein

Brisbane 2032 organisers face losing a tens of millions of dollars in ticket revenue windfall if swimming is not held at Suncorp Stadium and basketball is banished to a small Games venue.

The $5bn cost of running Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be partly offset by ticket sales, which organisers hope will generate $1.29bn.

Where two of the highest revenue-generating sports, basketball and swimming, will be held remains uncertain.

Games insiders suggest the 52 men’s and women’s basketball matches should be held at the flagship 17,000-seat Brisbane Arena – where if the cheapest tickets remained at the Paris 2024 price of $84, would generate at least $73.3m in much-needed revenue for 2032 organisers.

The windfall could be significantly more, with tickets to the Paris 2024 men’s final between the USA and France starting from $1625.

Some seats will be occupied by International Olympic Committee family and media representatives.

If basketball was held in the 10,500-seat Brisbane Entertainment Centre at Boondall at least $45.8m in ticket revenue would be generated.

Currently, swimming is slated to be held in a drop-in pool at Brisbane Arena with a 15,000 seat capacity.

Suncorp Stadium has been proposed as an option to host the swimming in 2032.

Hosting 17 swimming sessions in the inner-city venue, at the cheapest Paris ticket of $24, would generate at least $6.1m.

However, moving the sport to a reconfigured 38,000-seat Suncorp Stadium would more-than-double ticket revenue to at least $15.5m.

The state government’s 100-day review panel continues to piece together the infrastructure jigsaw before handing its final report to the state government on March 8.

It must balance building venues large enough to offer hundreds of thousands of Olympic and Paralympic Games tickets, but remain viable in legacy mode.

Olympic swimming champion Duncan Armstrong this week told The Courier-Mail Australia would field its “greatest ever” swim team in 2032 that deserved to compete at Suncorp Stadium.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate is pushing to host swimming at an upgraded aquatic centre at Southport, while Swimming Australia wants a new National Aquatics Centre permanently built at Victoria Park.

One person familiar with Games planning argued hosting the “money-spinner” sport of basketball at Brisbane Arena instead of swimming would provide a significant boost to ticket revenue and create a strong atmosphere.

They asked: “Where else are you going to hold one of the premier Olympic sports?”

“(Do) you really want to put it at a smaller venue and miss out on a massive revenue opportunity?”

In 2032 Olympic basketball was slated for the 12,000-seat Brisbane Indoor Sports Centre at Albion – however the facility faces “significant site constraints, program delay risks and precinct and displacement costs”.

Hosting the Paris 2024 men’s final between the USA ‘dream team’ and France at the 13,300-seat Bercy Arena could have netted organisers up to $21.6m in ticket revenue.

Tickets for preliminary basketball started from 50 Euro ($84), making it among the most expensive entry-level-ticketed sports.

It compared to 90 euros for a spot on the River Seine for the opening ceremony and 250 Euros for a seat inside Stade de France for the closing ceremony.

Hosting the basketball at a small venue risks repeating the black hole organisers faced under the former government’s plan to use Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre – the smallest venue in more than a century – to host athletics.

Organising Committee President Andrew Liveris, in July, warned using the 40,000-seat no-frills Nathan stadium would leave a hole in his $1.29bn ticket revenue target.

“If there’s the decision on athletics that impacts revenue, there has to be a ‘make whole’ strategy,” he said.

“If that’s the decision that’s a revenue impact, we will make it up elsewhere.”