He also has a personalised steak knife bearing the inscription ‘AG Silver Fox’ on standby at the Gambaro family’s Queen’s Wharf location of Black Hide restaurant, which is where The Sunday Mail meets Graham for this instalment of High Steaks.

With its prime real estate looking out over the Brisbane River towards South Bank, the view is spectacular.

It’s better than the view from Graham’s office, which rather than looking out over Queensland’s most hallowed sporting field, faces out towards Castlemaine St.

Nonetheless, Graham is acutely aware of the honour and responsibility which comes as steward of what is arguably the Sunshine State’s most sacred ground.

“I think that’s something that I’m always conscious of – the fact that it’s more than just a stadium,” he says.

“It’s something that people of Brisbane and Queensland take pride in and get a lot of satisfaction out of.

“So it’s more than just bricks and mortar – it’s got a real substance to it and it’s got a lot of memories for a lot of people.”

In between all the memories of Broncos’ wins, Origin epics, soccer, rugby union, music concerts and that one day when a Brisbane schoolteacher beat boxing legend Manny Pacquiao for the World Boxing Organisation welterweight championship, it’s another image which Graham comes back to as an example of what Suncorp Stadium means to Queensland.

“When we had the floods in 2011, one of the driving factors for us was to get the stadium back and operating as soon as we could because we knew that would give people a shot in the arm,” he says.

“Those aerial shots of the stadium playing surface under water, it became symbolic of the flood and for people to see that, well if Suncorp could get back, there’s hope for everyone else.

“So many people were so badly affected by those floods and yet to see the stadium back gave them a boost.”

While the buck ultimately stops with him, Graham is eager to credit the 40-strong team which keeps Suncorp humming.

During the 2011 flood, many of them slept in the stadium for days on end as they tackled the task of restoring the grand girl to glory.

They did the same in 2022 and there were some nervous days and hours last week as ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred lurched drunkenly towards the state’s southeast.

At 71 – though he looks much younger — Graham has forged a career as one of Queensland’s most experienced and respected sports administrators.

That experience, which includes roles with the Sydney Olympics and the 2008 Games in Beijing, could prove invaluable as Brisbane marches, or perhaps shuffles, towards its own date with the Greatest Show on Earth in 2032.

He is diplomatic about the stadium stoushes which should be resolved once and for all when the state government unveils its course of action on March 25.

Whether it is a new stadium at Victoria Park, a redeveloped Gabba, or a joker from the pack, Graham is happy to wait for the announcement like everyone else.

What he is adamant about is that Brisbane needs a new indoor arena, with or without the Olympics, to create “a magic carpet ride” in the city CBD between Suncorp Stadium, Caxton Street, Queen’s Wharf and the arena itself.

“I can’t imagine another major city having that opportunity,” he says.

“Melbourne is a great example of how that aggregation works … (and) Sydney is an example of the exact opposite.”

The push for an indoor arena in the heart of Brisbane has long been led by Harvey Lister, the stadiums guru and ASM Global CEO for Asia Pacific.

ASM Global is also the operator of Suncorp Stadium, but Graham says his own view isn’t clouded by any sense of loyalty or toeing the company line.

“While I can be accused of bias given Harvey’s involvement, I can never be a strong advocate for something I don’t truly believe in,” he says.

“And I don’t have anything to gain personally from it.

“My interest is ensuring we have a lasting legacy for Brisbane long after I’m gone.”

Growing up in Inala, a southwest Brisbane suburb which delivered two Queensland premiers, Graham was an avid sportsman, playing cricket in summer and rugby league in winter.

While a serious shoulder injury (and in his words, a serious lack of talent) curtailed any dreams of a professional footy career, Graham entered the public service, working in a variety of roles across various transport departments, before changing gears, so to speak, and entering the world of sport and stadium management.

Graham has been general manager at Suncorp Stadium for more than 20 years – right back to its reopening in 2003 following the $280 million redevelopment project which transformed it from the motley old cauldron of Lang Park to the present structure which is often viewed as one of the world’s best sporting venues.

His experience in sports stadiums and management goes back even further to his days as CEO of the short-lived South Queensland Crushers in the 1990s and various posts at venues across Brisbane including the Sleeman Centre and the Gabba, which gave him an insight into the ways of the Olympics as the venue hosted soccer during the 2000 Games.

It has left him confident that Suncorp will be able to step up as an Olympic venue with a minimum of fuss in seven years’ time, whether that is for soccer, rugby sevens or something completely out of left field (Graham appreciates the ambition of a giant temporary pool for the swimming but questions the legacy of such a move).

“Because we’ve continued to upgrade and maintain the venue, a step to get from where we are now to what might be needed for the Olympics is not huge,” he says.

Graham will most likely be long retired by 2032, but he feels good about the stadium’s future towards the Olympics and beyond.

He sees continued improvements and upgrades, but only at a superficial level and does not foresee a day where Suncorp’s present capacity of 52,000 might be expanded to 60,000 or beyond, or when the whole venue might be covered by a retractable roof.

“There’s a few issues there,” he says.

“One is the footprint and what you’ve got to work with and what that might cost and then what your return on that is.

“We’ve done the exercise … (and) we could fit another four or 5000 seats in without any major demolition work or any major structural work, which would take us to about 56-57,000.”

It might be like asking to choose a favourite child, but does he have a favourite memory from his time at Suncorp?

“Jeff Horn was definitely up there,” he says.

“All the cards fell into place – the weather was perfect, it was a great undercard, and then to win the way he did it was just incredible so you couldn’t have written that story.

“And a lot of people I know that have been to the Olympic Games, Super Bowls and all that sort of stuff, still say that’s the best event they’ve ever been to.

“(And) Any time you’re lucky enough to be standing on the field when the Queensland Origin team runs out, if that doesn’t make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, you’re not alive.”

ALAN GRAHAM: General manager, Suncorp Stadium

STEAK: Angus sirloin, shoestring chips and roast pumpkin

VENUE: Black Hide, Queen’s Wharf

RATING: 10/10