Brisbane 2032: Toowoomba bids to host events, teams during Olympics
Some of Toowoomba’s top business minds say the city deserves infrastructure to help host Olympic events — and they’ve started developing the plan to help deliver it.
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Toowoomba has a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity to be part of the Olympic Games in 2032, but only if we deliver the right message.
The Chronicle is focusing on the various ways we can be involved in the Brisbane Olympics, from infrastructure, sport, tourism, jobs and services.
LEGENDARY ADMINISTRATOR BACKS ROAD CYCLING
ONE of Toowoomba’s most experienced sporting and tourism voices has called on the city to push for road cycling as one of the Olympic events it wants at the 2032 Brisbane Games.
Cycling Queensland life member and founding chairman of the Queensland Tourism Industry Council John Osborne said Toowoomba had a strong history of hosting national and international cycling events in the past.
His comments come just days before The Chronicle’s Future Toowoomba luncheon on Friday, which gathered key figures like Olympians Nat Cook and Matthew Denny and businessman John Wagner for a roundtable on the city’s Olympic opportunities.
Mr Osborne, who was a key organiser in the highly successful Tour of Toowoomba, said the region had the right terrain for road cycling.
“I’d suggest there would be at least four circuits that would meet the world standard,” he said.
“It is one of the most patronised of all the Olympic events (and Toowoomba) wouldn’t be too far away for competitors to come up here.
“The route would be within a short distance from the city, so you could have them finish in the city centre.”
Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise’s Mark Mason is currently compiling a report into our Olympic opportunities, with seven sports reportedly being explored.
Whatever the event, Mr Osborne said Toowoomba needed to be unified and purposeful in its advocacy.
“Let’s not scatter-shot, we need to pick a few events and target those,” he said.
“There are three elements (to focus on) — one is the long-term legacy (infrastructure), one is an actual Olympic event and the other is securing national teams for pre-games training.”
THE PLAN: BUSINESS LEADERS URGE UNITY OVER OLYMPICS
Some of Toowoomba’s most powerful and influential leaders have called on the city to rally behind a unified message to ensure we get our fair share from the upcoming 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.
The Chronicle has prosecuted the case for Toowoomba as an Olympic city over the past seven days, identifying how our involvement in the games could deliver thousands of jobs, inject millions into the economy and deliver infrastructure that would be used for the next 50 years.
Now major stakeholders like Wagner Corporation, the Chamber of Commerce, LJ Hooker and Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise have urged the rest of the community to “get on the bus” and push for a model that will deliver the goods without much cost to the ratepayer.
Businessman John Wagner said a commercially-driven campaign would limit public expenditure and ensure projects had a shelf life beyond the Olympics.
“I strongly believe if we look at this laterally, we can have a number of Olympic events here without any cost to the Toowoomba ratepayers and taxpayers,” he said.
“It’s about getting commercially-led projects, so if we can do that and there’s no impost on the Toowoomba ratepayers, then it’s just a massive windfall for Toowoomba.”
Mr Wagner said he would also like to see the campaign driven by an organisation like TSBE, rather than the council directly.
TSBE’s Mark Mason, who is currently developing a report for the Toowoomba Regional Council into Olympic opportunities around seven sports, said the key to securing legacy infrastructure like stadiums was actually to not make them about the games solely.
“We need to inform the community that the Olympics that we know from the past, where it’s been about big spends, big budgets and big failures is not the Olympic future,” he said.
“It’s about sustainability, growth and the welfare of the community and that’s what this campaign is about.”
Chamber CEO Todd Rohl agreed with Mr Mason, saying the narrative should use the Olympics as a focal point.
“It’s enabled us to put a spotlight on the infrastructure we think we deserve, regardless of the Olympics,” he said.
LJ Hooker principal Mike Stewart said the city needed to get its message ready now.
“The Olympics are a nice theme and a catalyst for development but it’s a comma in the sentence that is Toowoomba,” he said.
Chronicle editor Jordan Philp said the upcoming Future Toowoomba luncheon at Wellcamp Airport on December 3 marked a perfect opportunity to get the city’s leaders in the same room.
“The powerbrokers of this city coming together with a unified voice and making this campaign commercially-led is going to make sure we have our best chance of creating legacy infrastructure,” he said.
For tickets to the luncheon, head to the website at futuretoowoomba2021.splashthat.com.
LIFESTYLE: FAMILIES FLEE CITIES FOR TOOWOOMBA CLIMATE
When Evie and Shaun Albrew made the move to Toowoomba from Cairns about 12 months ago with their five children, they didn’t realise it would become their forever home.
“We sold our house in Cairns, we love it down here — we told family in Cairns we’re not coming back,” the LJ Hooker property manager said.
“The people have been so welcoming and accommodating — we felt like we’ve left one family and come to another.”
The Albrews are part of a wave of young families and professionals making the Garden City their new home for better lifestyles, schools and community support.
It’s one of the many population shifts that has leading demographic and social trend expert Simon Kuestenmacher excited about Toowoomba’s next 10 years, as the city prepares to push for more infrastructure in time for the 2032 Olympics.
Mr Kuestenmacher said the region would benefit from the mass migration of families and young people from the major cities due to Covid-19, seeking a more affordable and comfortable lifestyle.
“The current big-picture population shifts are favouring Toowoomba,” he said.
“Growth was previously limited by the jobs available in an area, but now people can bring the jobs with them.”
Mr Kuestenmacher said evidence of strong demographic trends towards Toowoomba could be used by the city’s economic and political leaders to earn more infrastructure ahead of the Olympics — but only if they were on the same page.
“You need to create a collective vision of Toowoomba,” he said.
“If everybody agrees Toowoomba needs a convention centre, but no one can pick the place for it, that is poison for Toowoomba.
“The Brisbane games are the first where you’re not meant to build new infrastructure — it is mostly an excuse to upgrade your existing infrastructure.
“Queensland will get more future population growth so if I’m the State Government I’d want to decentralise and spread out that growth across the region.
“You (as Toowoomba) would need to argue that you will provide space for future growth and you can take future growth and help it decentralise.”
BUSINESS: THOUSANDS OF JOBS ON OFFER
Toowoomba cafe worker Bella Balloch can’t wait to see the jobs created from the upcoming Olympic Games in southeast Queensland — and she’s not the only one.
The city’s business leaders say thousands of jobs could be both created and supported by projects before, during and after the Olympics in 2032, across dozens of industries.
It comes as economic lobby group Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprises continue to work on a new Olympics opportunities study for the region.
The Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland also unveiled this week a plan to create an equine centre of excellence at the Toowoomba Showgrounds.
TSBE CEO Ali Davenport said the region needed to consider legacy projects that would deliver decades’ worth of economic benefits.
“If we look at developing an international capability in a sport, that will develop jobs over the next 20-40 years,” she said.
“As a region, we’ve got to look at how we establish international sporting over the next five years so we can generate some new jobs out of it.
“Are there jobs around the Olympics? Absolutely, but the long-term benefits of an international-class facility are so much greater.
“If we’re only look at the two weeks of the games, the opportunities are short-lived.”
Toowoomba businessman John Wagner, who is hoping to secure the final funding needed for his $170m entertainment precinct at Wellcamp that will include Olympic infrastructure, said the jobs potential of the games could not be overlooked.
“Hundreds of thousands of visitors will visit the precinct once it’s built,” he said.
“If you look at the study we did for the entertainment precinct, 2500 thousand jobs will be created on a big event day.
“If you had 20-30 events a year, that’s a lot of people.
“It’s really become apparent that the entertainment precinct will be more valuable than ever when the Olympics comes around.”
BUSINESS: TOURISM GROUPS PREPARE FOR GAMES
Toowoomba youngsters Levi Higgins, Vincent Collins and Saxon Wegener aren’t afraid to don the green and gold, and they would love to bear these colours while watching Olympic events in their own backyard in 2032.
The Garden City’s tourism leaders are excited by the economic boost the upcoming Brisbane Olympic Games could deliver for the city.
With more than one million tourists expected to descend on southeast Queensland and more than 90,000 athletes, support staff and other personnel also needing to be catered for, Southern Queensland Country Tourism CEO Peter Homan said the Toowoomba region had a golden opportunity to host events, teams and visitors.
Mr Homan said key stakeholders needed to ensure Toowoomba was as involved in the Olympics as possible.
“It’s about identifying the things we can put forward as a region,” he said.
“The IOC decides where they’re putting the events, so we still have time to develop infrastructure that delivers for our region.
“There are so many opportunities — there will be scouts trying to find locations for their teams to be housed, then of course there’s the support crew and family and friends.
“Visitors won’t want to go to the Olympics every day, so we’ve got a great opportunity to get them out and about in the Darling Downs because we’re only a couple of hours from the major areas that will host the Olympics.”
Mr Homan said Toowoomba didn’t need expensive tourism campaigns; it just needed the right message.
“We need to have a guerrilla marketing hats on and be really targeted,” he said.
“We want to be in front of them before they even get to Australia so we’ll work closely with the councils on that.”
“We just need to make sure the message we’re putting in front of them is exactly what they need.”
SPORT: PLAN TO CREATE EQUESTRIAN CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
Toowoomba could become both the hub for all equestrian personnel at the 2032 Olympic Games and the major centre for major horse sports across Queensland, if an ambitious plan is fast-tracked by the State Government.
The Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland and Equestrian Queensland have unveiled a new proposal to turn the Toowoomba Showgrounds into an equine centre of excellence.
If delivered, the multimillion-dollar plan would make the showgrounds the state’s premier venue for equestrian events and play a key role in stabling horses and housing athletes and supporting staff during the Brisbane Olympics.
RASQ CEO Damon Phillips said while the show society would love to host equestrian events in 11 years’ time, Toowoomba could still play a key role.
“We’ve got the space, the positioning of Toowoomba is great, we’ve got great accommodation and we have an international airport (to bring in the horses),” he said.
“We’ve talked about the major events being in Brisbane, but the potential for Toowoomba to be the base for horse events in 2032.
“In Brisbane, there is nowhere to store that many horses, (but) we have capacity to stable 350 horses, that’s the only place in Queensland that can accommodate it.”
Mr Phillips said aside from the Olympics, the centre of excellence could host top-level horse competitions across a variety of disciplines, including dressage, showjumping, cross country and potentially even country events like campdrafting.
“With equestrian events, there’s no legacy infrastructure in Queensland, whereas Toowoomba could be that centre of excellence to attract major events,” he said.
“There are no all-weather equestrian surfaces in Queensland (so we are) unable currently to attract major national events.”
Mr Phillips said the project would be brought forward to the Toowoomba Regional Council soon to develop a master plan, with the hope of presenting it to the State Government later next year.
INFRASTRUCTURE: NO WHITE ELEPHANTS IN CITY’S OLYMPIC BID
The 2032 Olympic Games in southeast Queensland could deliver millions in legacy sporting and commercial infrastructure for Toowoomba that would service the community for up to half a century.
That’s according to the man charged with collating the region’s Olympic opportunities, who believes the games should be the vehicle for delivering facilities and venues that would be used 50 years beyond the 10 days of sporting competition.
Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise’s Mark Mason, who is currently completing a special opportunities report into the Olympics, said the community needed to back infrastructure which would not only drive economic value during and after the games, but also benefited social and cultural cohesion.
“We are looking to build regional capabilities for regional infrastructure, the Olympics are just the vehicle,” he said.
“We’ve got this 25-50 year window to ensure we have the best infrastructure for our region.
“This product should be so good we don’t need the Olympics to make it work — that’s the mindset we have to adopt.”
Mr Mason said the Brisbane Olympics would be the first games to have a formal remit from the International Olympic Committee to limit new infrastructure expenditure, with the aim of making the model more sustainable.
“Sustainability is at the heart of the IOC’s approach, starting with the Brisbane Olympics,” he said.
Another man who believes in legacy infrastructure is businessman John Wagner, who hopes the Olympics could be the catalyst to fast-track his $170m Wellcamp entertainment precinct.
Mr Wagner said the project would include space for Olympic infrastructure that could be used beyond the scope of the games.
“We have volunteered to build Olympic infrastructure like archery, BMX, equestrian, whatever they need if the Wellcamp entertainment precinct is built,” he said.
Mr Wagner said the Olympics could deliver fast rail to Toowoomba, but he held concerns about whether the region would be included.
“We need to be part of this fast-rail network, at this stage we could be cut out of that unless we get on the front foot,” he said. “People could come from Brisbane to Toowoomba within 40 minutes.”
PROPERTY: AGENT’S VISION FOR MORE LIVEABLE TOOWOOMBA
One of Toowoomba’s leading real estate agents has called the need for legacy infrastructure driven by the Olympic Games “critical” to the region’s continued liveability.
LJ Hooker Toowoomba principal Mike Stewart said additional venues such as a new stadium or community sporting complex would not only generate millions for Toowoomba commercially but also make it more attractive to people interested in moving here.
Toowoomba is slated to get a new stadium from the State Government as part of Olympic investments in southeast Queensland, with an upgrade of Clive Berghofer Stadium the most likely option.
Mr Stewart (pictured) said Toowoomba needed to see investment not just in facilities but also connectivity.
“The focus will be on the city and we need to take every opportunity to upgrade everything we can,” he said.
“The reality is with the infrastructure we already have, more people are going to come and live here.
“We’re talking about public transport, rail access, improved connectivity — we need to decide on what those critical infrastructure needs are and go hard with governments to make them happen.
“The new hospital is a classic example — it should be delivered now and there’s no reason it can’t be delivered,” he said.
Mr Stewart said a community’s improved liveability did have some effect on housing prices, but not as much as the simple economics of supply and demand.
SPORT: JUNIORS DREAM OF OLYMPIC GOLD
Junior athletes Lekaysha Woodbridge, Sharna O’Neil, Emmy Reimann and Amelie Taylor have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity potentially in their futures — the chance to compete at the Olympics in their own backyard.
They are just four of the hundreds of young rising stars working hard to represent their country in 11 years’ time, when Brisbane and southeast Queensland hosts the 2032 Olympic Games.
It’s an opportunity not lost on 14-year-old boxing prodigy Lekaysha, who has set her sights on wearing the green and gold.
Smithy’s Gym owner Brendon Smith, who also trained Lekaysha’s father Bruce “Sugar” Woodbridge to state and national titles, said the teenager had made the Olympics her dream.
“We had the Canadian Commonwealth Games boxing team come and train here in 2018, including five women, and she was here watching them,” Mr Smith said.
“We’ve got so many kids in the gym, and their first thoughts are Olympic dreams.
“Young Lakeysha, her dream is to the go to the Olympics from day dot, and I believe she has the talent and work ethic to go with it.
“It’s a long road but I believe that’s where she’s headed right now.
“It would be amazing for her to represent us at Brisbane, it would be amazing for any local athlete.”
Toowoomba Hockey Association’s regional hockey and coaching manager Matt Cook said the Garden City had several junior hockey stars currently in state and national pathways.
“For our juniors and under-13s, they probably haven’t realised the extent and opportunity of 2032, but certainly the under 20s are aware of how big this is and the benefits for the sport they will bring.
“It’s very competitive, but there are certainly young people in the Darling Downs who have the ability to make it so we’ll leave no stone unturned to help them get there,” Mr Cook said.
Mr Cook said he hoped Toowoomba’s sporting facilities would be used to host national sides.
“Toowoomba Hockey has produced a number of Olympians, so to be involved in some capacity would be fantastic, whether it’s training camps or friendly games,” he said.
“We’ve got one of the best facilities in regional Australia and we’ve got a fantastic hockey community ready to support.”
Allstar Gymnastics’ competitive program manager Debbie Smith said junior stars like Amelie could feature in the Australian gymnastics team in 11 years’ time.
“We have lots of girls who want to be in the Olympics — we’ve got 120 in our competitive program,” she said.
Ms Smith said she would like to see Toowoomba’s gymnastic infrastructure improved to host teams in 2032.
EVENTS: POLITICAL, BUSINESS LEADERS UNITE ON OLYMPICS
Toowoomba’s political, economic and business leaders have sent a united message to Olympic Games organisers — this region deserves more.
With planning now in full swing for the upcoming Games in 2032, concern is growing Toowoomba could miss out on key infrastructure and opportunities.
But key figureheads like Mayor Paul Antonio and businessman John Wagner believe the region has plenty to offer across a variety of industries that could not only assist the Olympics but also generate millions for the region.
It comes a few months after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk revealed the State Government planned to upgrade Clive Berghofer Stadium to host football matches at the Olympics.
While Mr Antonio said the news was encouraging, he urged the official organising committee for the Games to consider Toowoomba’s position as a regional powerhouse when selecting locations for sports, athletes, volunteers and other aspects.
“We’re buoyed that the State Government will give us a better stadium — it will allow us to host state and national events,” he said.
“I think Toowoomba deserves some serious consideration, and we’ll be working hard and we’re going through a process now.
“This is why we’re doing this full and complete study and the person doing it (Mark Mason) has had experience at two Olympic Games.”
Mr Wagner has allocated space inside his massive proposed $170m motorsport and entertainment precinct at Wellcamp for Olympic infrastructure, which his company has offered to build if the project gets the final $40m it needs.
He said the region didn’t want to rue what he considered a golden opportunity.
“It’s absolutely critical that Toowoomba works collectively together to get its fair share of the pie,” Mr Wagner said.
“We need to get our fair share of sporting events, I understand they can’t go everywhere, but we’re about an hour and a half away from the Olympic Village, which was an acceptable distance for Tokyo.
“We have volunteered to build Olympic infrastructure like archery, BMX, equestrian, whatever they need if the Wellcamp entertainment precinct is built.
“We’ve got one opportunity to get on this, and we can’t afford to drop the ball.”
Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise CEO Ali Davenport said she was excited by the economic potential that could be unlocked from the Olympic Games, but only if Toowoomba was part of the conversation.
“We as a region need to have the capability to host international sporting events,” she said.
“We would love it to be sport, but there are so many opportunities.”
INFRASTRUCTURE: BOLD PLAN FOR OLD HOSPITAL SITE
The man charged with drafting up and laying out our Olympic opportunities has suggested an ambitious plan for the old Toowoomba Hospital site that could deliver millions for the region.
Toowoomba Regional Council’s Mark Mason, who is currently developing a new study with lobby group Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise, has called the upcoming Olympic Games a “once-in-a-lifetime” economic opportunity for the Darling Downs.
This includes the chance to secure key sporting infrastructure and harness the Toowoomba region’s assets in agriculture and logistics.
“This is a genuine once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have the world on its doorstep, and we need to prepare ourselves for that,” Mr Mason said.
“This is the start of the process – the decisions won’t be made in the next six months, we’ve got a 10-year runway.
“The worst outcome from Toowoomba is we all have a really good time at the Games, but we can achieve a lot more.
“Those opportunities are not restricted to sport, it’s about agriculture and supply chains and that will flow on for trade opportunities.”
Mr Mason, who worked with Olympics organisers in both Sydney and London to create and repurpose games infrastructure to benefit local communities, said a key opportunity existed at the existing hospital site on Pechey Street.
He said rather than just expand Clive Berghofer Stadium at East Toowoomba, the State Government should build a new multipurpose centre to replace the old hospital once the new facility at Baillie Henderson was finished.
“I would see the biggest opportunities would be to advocate for the fast-tracking of the relocation of the Toowoomba Hospital and the repurposing of the site for a multipurpose centre,” Mr Mason said.
“I’m talking about a stadium, aquatics and convention centre — they all interact with each other in a commercial and social sense.
“That has a 25-50 year life to it, and the Olympics are the driver for us to do this.
“It’s got good accessibility, there are linkages, and it is a prime piece of land that could be used for that purpose.
“If the project is going to facilitate the start of the new hospital, we’re killing two birds with one stone.”
Mr Mason, who will deliver his final report to the council early next year, said he wanted to advocate for opportunities that would deliver a range of benefits for Toowoomba.
“Toowoomba is a fantastic place and it may be on our best interests to focus on the social and cultural aspects, not just in infrastructure and sport,” he said.
“We are well positioned to service the supply chain for the Olympics.”
EDUCATION: SPORTS SCIENCE POTENTIAL COULD BE UNLOCKED
The 2032 Olympic Games could turn southeast Queensland into a sports science capital — and Toowoomba has a big chance to capitalise on it.
That’s according to world-leading athletic performance expert and University of Southern Queensland Associate Professor Stephen Bird, who believes Toowoomba graduates will be plying their skills with Olympians across the globe in 11 years’ time.
The university is currently crafting its sports strategy with the Olympic Games in mind, in the hope of further developing world-class facilities for international athletes to use.
Dr Bird, who has worked with Olympic athletes at both Beijing and Rio and as well as NRL, netball and basketball sides, said USQ was producing the sports scientists who would be needed to work with more than 10,000 sportsmen and women when the Brisbane games rolls around.
“With the Olympics, what you’ll see is all these international sporting teams trying to find the one percenters,” he said.
“They’re now blending all the underpinning areas of performance to maximise performance as a whole.
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