‘Right size’: Games boss in take-down of Premier’s stadium plan

The Brisbane Olympics organising committee boss has questioned the value of the state government’s plan to spend $1.6bn on a temporary athletics arena at the old QEII Stadium.

Andrew Liveris speaks in Brisbane on Wednesday. Picture: Richard Walker

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The Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games showed the world the value of having an 80,000-seat stadium for the success of the Games, says the man charged with delivering the Brisbane 2032 event.

In a pointed take-down of Premier Steven Miles’s plan to spend $1.6bn on a temporary 40,000-seat athletics facility at the old QEII Stadium – now the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre – 2032 Organising Committee president Andrew Liveris said he was still unclear about the “cost aspect” of having a venue half the size of the Paris one.

“You just have to be in the Stade de France watching the Sevens Rugby, with 80,000 people providing revenue and top sponsors providing revenue, to understand the power of having a right-size stadium for the Olympics,” Mr Liveris said on Wednesday.

“If QSAC ends up being the answer based on cost and revenue then we will have to look at where we do events.”

Mr Liveris said he was waiting on the government’s Project Validation Report on the QSAC plan to take a firm view.

But State Development and Infrastructure Minister Grace Grace revealed that report was not due to be completed until the middle of next year.

The Opposition has vowed to conduct an independent review into Olympic and Paralympic projects within 100 days if it wins the October 26 election.

Opposition leader David Crisafulli doubled on his recent criticism of the QSAC proposal, saying it made no sense.

“It’s a horrendous plan, and its prospect in the eyes of any Queenslander other than a bloke called Steven, is zilch,” he said.

“I don’t think there’s any scenario where any Queenslander looks at that (QSAC) plan and doesn’t see anything but cringeworthiness from a desperate government.

“While I look forward to the results of the 100-day review, if a project like that came out the other end, at a time when Queenslanders are yearning to be proud of their government and their state on the world stage, I would be stunned.”

An early concept of the Gabba as Olympic stadium

Ms Grace said the Opposition was hiding behind its 100-day review and accused the party of secretly planning to back the $3.4bn Victoria Park stadium.

Ms Grace challenged the LNP to “stop playing hide-and-seek” and reveal its real plans for the 2032 Games.

“David Crisafulli’s backflips could get him a spot on the 2032 gymnastics team at this rate,” she said.

“First he supported upgrades to the Gabba, now he says he never did.

“He said he backed Labor’s plan for a lower cost to taxpayers, with the legacy option of upgrading QSAC, yet now he’s backflipped again.

“We know the LNP is refusing to support QSAC because they’re secretly planning to spend $3.4 billion-plus on a new build stadium at Victoria Park.”

Mr Liveris yesterday said Brisbane was not “Hicksville” and argued the success of the Games – just like in Paris – rested on delivering Queensland a “Cathy Freeman” sporting moment.

“At the end of day the venues didn’t matter, the performances mattered and the French partisanship was staggering,” he said.

“That’s what we’re going to have: Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi … this is really what makes it all work. It isn’t the squabbling about venue A versus venue B.”

Paris organisers sold 9.5 million tickets to the Olympic Games and 2.5 million to the Paralympics.

Mr Liveris – who was previously critical of the government capitulating to a vocal minority in deciding to axe the Gabba reconstruction plan – said some people would inevitably be disrupted to put on the “biggest event on the face of the planet”.

He noted Paris had not finalised its venues until some 600 days before the Olympic Games and urged Queenslanders “don’t panic” over time frames.

Paralympics Australia interim chief executive officer Cameron Murray said it was critical sport funding and opportunities for people with a disability were improved if the 2032 event was a success.

“If we don’t get this right the next two years we don’t deliver into LA and we certainly don’t deliver in Brisbane,” he said. “What you have to do is look at the positive of it … how it lifts the nation.”

The LNP has committed to remaining within the current $7.1bn 2032 Games budget.

Originally published as ‘Right size’: Games boss in take-down of Premier’s stadium plan