Brisbane 2032 Olympics: QSAC option smallest in 100 years

The planned Brisbane 2032 Olympic stadium has one shaded grandstand, a decrease from the current two at QSAC and from the 1928 Games in Amsterdam.

A majority of athletics spectators at Queensland’s premier Olympic stadium will be forced to slip, slop, slap sunscreen at regular intervals after early renders revealed just one shaded grandstand at the 40,000-seat venue.

In a major departure from recent Olympic and Paralympic Games athletics venues – including Paris’s Stade de France – most of the seats at the upgraded Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre won’t be undercover.

The very first official render of the QSAC upgrade, released by the state development department through right-to-information laws, shows a no-frills 40,000 seat stadium that harks back to the austere athletics venue used during the Amsterdam Games nearly a century ago.

There is one shaded grandstand, a decrease from the current two at QSAC and from the 1928 spectacular in the capital city of the Netherlands.

Only 14,000 of the seats at the upgraded QSAC, which at this stage is set to cost $1.6bn, will be permanent.

A concept for the QSAC Olympic stadium option from architects Populous

World-leading architects Populous, stadium design specialist who have been involved in 14 summer and winter Games since 1996, put together the early rendition on the behest of the government, RTI documents show.

Populous is responsible for spectacular venues around the world including the Buffalo Bills Stadium in the United States, Philippine Arena, and the BMO Centre in Canada.

A state development department spokesman said the QSAC render was an “indicative image” that was “illustrative only and does not reflect a final reference design” for the venue.

“The render for QSAC shows an indicative image of an approximately 40,000 seat stadium with the permanent western grandstand and seating in the lower concourse as well as temporary seating in Games mode,” he said.

“As the project progresses, a series of renders that reflect the reference design and from a range of perspectives will be developed for QSAC.”

Only a black-and-white version of the render has been supplied through the RTI, with the government and the newly created Games Venue and Legacy Delivery Authority refusing to provide a version in colour.

The Amsterdam 1928 stadium had two shaded grandstands. Picture: Popperfoto

Committee for Brisbane chief executive Jen Williams images of iconic French landmarks being used as part of the Paris Games was prompting Queenslanders to think about how their city would be viewed globally.

“It is unfortunate so much of the public discourse is now focused on the cost to deliver assets for the Games, rather than the anticipated community need for new infrastructure and return on investment it will deliver over an extended period of time,” she said.

At 40,000 seats, QSAC is set to be the smallest capacity of an Olympics athletics stadium since the 1928 Games.

This is set to severely limit admission for the general public.

Paris’s Stade de France will seat some 80,000 people at this year’s Games while the century-old Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum will host 77,500 people during the 2028 Olympics athletics events.

The project validation report for QSAC is underway, with technical analysis and costings to be squared away by the end of 2024 according to a GVLDA spokesman.

He said the report would be considered by the GVLDA board and government in the first quarter of 2025.

Originally published as Brisbane 2032 Olympics: QSAC option smallest in 100 years