Bold Games plan puts stadium at Victoria Park, arena at the Gabba

A 50,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park, an upgraded Suncorp Stadium and the Gabba transformed into a Madison Square Garden-style arena, all part of bold proposal for 2032 Games.

• Power couple: No more dogs please

A 50,000-seat stadium should be built at Victoria Park, Suncorp Stadium upgraded and the Gabba transformed into a Madison Square Garden-style arena as part of a “golden triangle” events precinct for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, a Brisbane power couple has declared.

Frustrated with talk of a “cut-price Olympics”, former South Bank chairman Steve Wilson and his company director wife Jane have called for Brisbane not to squib the opportunity to build transformative Games infrastructure.

The Wilsons, disappointed with the increasing focus on cost over legacy, have called for Brisbane residents and stakeholders to spend the cash and ensure the city’s sporting venues were among the world’s best.

“We couldn’t sit by and watch us have the worst own goal and run with a cut-price Olympics … having waited 30 years since Sydney for our chance to shine,” Mr Wilson said.

“These dollars of expenditure are simply bringing forward to a deadline what are necessary anyway.

“Suncorp is not big enough for the NRL Grand Final, World Cup Rugby and Taylor Swift, the Gabba has dropped to number five test cricket venue and could go lower … everybody in Brisbane knows Boondal is a dog.

“We’ve got to call it out because you can get these cheap points by saying we’ll slash the price and pour it into public housing – this is dedicated venue money.”

Queensland businessman Steve Wilson

Mr Wilson, who chaired the South Bank Corporation board between 1996 and 2012, has proposed new and upgraded sporting and events venues – dubbed the “three pearls of Brisbane”.

He is calling for a 48,000-seat circle stadium at Victoria Park, modelled on the Sydney Cricket Ground, to be built for cricket and AFL.

“It’s got the three necessary principals, it’s rich with existing and soon-to-be-completed public transport, it’s central and it will stimulate precinct growth,” he said.

“The Lord Mayor has this wonderful idea of turning Victoria Park into a fabulous parkland, the stadium wouldn’t take up that much space.

“Parklands that aren’t activated do have security issues – we learnt that at South Bank.”

Mr Wilson argued Brisbane’s “most exciting venue”, Suncorp Stadium, should be upgraded to sit 65,000 people, rival the best British football stadiums and host the biggest global events.

Mr Wilson is proposing the controversial Gabba be demolished in favour of an 18,000-seat Brisbane Arena events centre.

Collectively, the three new venues could be linked through connecting green avenues and sporting hero walkways, Mr Wilson said.

Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games renders of sporting venues proposed for development at Victoria Park show an artist’s impression of the Cultural Hub that will host equestrian cross country. Picture supplied by Populous

“Most people tend to look at an individual venue in isolation,” he said.

“The real power here is with the golden triangle … these new three heroic pearls and what’s within – in between we have a number of other pearls, Southbank, Dexus’s Waterfront Precinct and Queen’s Wharf.”

Mr Wilson noted of Queensland’s $87bn budget, Games infrastructure costs of $400m each year made up some 5 per cent - with the federal government also offering to allocate $4bn.

“It’s money that would have been spent anyway,” he said.

“It’s a false narrative to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

“Brisbane is not on the global map … Andrew Liveris has said that – we have our chance and we may well win the price for the most chicken-hearted Games.”

Former Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk is undertaking a review of venue infrastructure and is due to report to State Development Minister Grace Grace on March 18.

Mr Wilson labelled his interjection in the Olympic infrastructure debate as a “call to arms” about what type of Games people wanted the city to host.

“Stop this nonsense of having a second-rate Olympics,” he said.

“It’s a once-ever opportunity so I encourage everybody to make a noise.”