2032 Olympic Games: Gold Coast’s plea to host rowing events after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese proposed Sydney
Mayor Tom Tate has rubbished Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s suggestion of relocating 2032 Olympics events to southern states, saying the Gold Coast is ready to host.
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Mayor Tom Tate has rubbished Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s suggestion of relocating 2032 Olympics events to southern states, saying the Gold Coast and southeast Queensland were more than ready to host.
The Prime Minister raised eyebrows over the weekend when he proposed that rowing could be relocated from Rockhampton to Sydney, while tennis could be sent to Melbourne.
“I’ve been meeting with (2032 Organising Committee President) Andrew Liveris as well as with the Queensland Premier (David) Crisafulli about where it goes,” he told the Two Good Sports podcast.
“For example, are we really going to do rowing in Rockhampton on the Fitzroy River when there are some pretty good facilities at Penrith? There’s a debate over tennis and what’s needed there in Brisbane as well.
“You have pretty good tennis facilities here (in Melbourne).
“Those things need to be worked through.
“It might be that the tennis stadium is built in Brisbane – fantastic. I think it’s legitimate for there to be proper discussion. But it might be that you just can’t do everything in one spot in the future.”
The choice of Rockhampton as the rowing venue was announced by the state government in March despite a push from the sport’s leaders and Mr Tate to instead use the Hinze Dam in Advancetown.
Mr Tate said the Prime Minister’s comments had taken him by surprise.
“I heard with interest that our Prime Minister wants to move tennis to Melbourne and rowing to Sydney and I beg to differ,” he said.
“Playing tennis and rowing in July down south wouldn’t be very comfortable for the athletes because it’s the middle of winter.
“The new norm for the Queensland Olympics is that athletes come first, their wellbeing and their motivation and comfort and I couldn’t think of anything more uncomfortable than to be playing tennis in the middle of winter.
“Always look to the Gold Coast for Plan B because we all are very entrepreneurial thinkers and I intend to bid for the World Rowing Championships to be held on the Gold Coast.
“So if it’s good enough for the world, it should be good enough for the Olympics and the Fitzroy River doesn’t measure up.”
Rowing Australia CEO Sarah Cook and Rowing Queensland CEO Matt Bialkowski wrote a scathing six-page letter to the state government’s 100-day Games review in March warning the loss of rowing and paddling, either to north Queensland or interstate, would deliver a body blow to the Games legacy and to the future of the sport.
“As the National Sporting Organisation (NSO) for rowing, Rowing Australia cannot produce world-class athletes in the absence of world standard facilities and world-class events in our region,” they wrote.
“In the same way, Queensland cannot host international events without facilities of world-class standard.
“Without international-standard facilities for Olympic sports in Queensland, there is no green and gold runway, there are simply lost opportunities that will flow to other Australian jurisdictions.”
Rowing Australia and Paddle Australia both made separate submissions to the Games review in February, asking for an assessment of Hinze Dam to be used as an event location instead of Wyaralong Dam west of Beaudesert.
They argued it would save money on building infrastructure as well as transport costs.
Mr Tate made the same point again this week, arguing Hinze Dam was the perfect location because of the minimal infrastructure required, plus proximity to the proposed Games athletes village at Royal Pines.
“It’s a value for money option because it will not take much to do,” he said.
“This is because of the infrastructure surrounding it and we will have plenty of accommodation surrounding it and the transport and security can be sorted.
“We tick all the boxes.”
WHAT GOLD COASTER’S THINK
Gold Coast residents have expressed mixed opinions about the potential relocation of some 2032 Olympic events to southern states, with locals fearing the region will lose out in tourist dollars and its chance to shine on the world stage.
Southport resident and John, 68, strongly opposed moving events like rowing and tennis interstate.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea. We’ve got all the facilities here so I think it’s important we keep it in Queensland because Brisbane got the Olympics, why should we spread it around Australia?” he said.
“It’s better for us to be able to showcase the Gold Coast to the rest of the world.
“It’s going to bring a lot of revenue in for the Gold Coast which would be amazing and the atmosphere would just be electric.”
Working in the tourism sector, John said he predicts a massive windfall for local operators, drawing on his first-hand experience.
“I was in Sydney in 2000 when that happened and it was just amazing,” he said.
Main Beach resident Ann, 60, agreed keeping events local would be a massive win for the Gold Coast.
“It would be excellent for the economy,” she said.
She said it would be exciting for the city and would “without a doubt” attend events if they were held locally.
Ann said she’d back Hinze Dam as an alternative rowing venue rather than relocating competitions interstate or using the originally proposed Rockhampton location.
“I was concerned about the rowing being in Rocky (Rockhampton) anyway because of the crocodiles up there, so the rowing going south – maybe, it depends on the venue.
“The Hinze Dam would be excellent,” she said.
Juanita, 51, and Gabriel, 65, from Coomera also backed the Hinze Damn proposal and pointed to the region’s proven track record.
“The Gold Coast did a good job with the Commonwealth Games. We’ve got that backing us,” they said.
“We’ve got the facilities for it – especially for the tennis – and the Hinze Dam will be fine for the rowing. It would be picturesque too,” Gabriel said.
“We won the Olympics, our city won it so it should stay where it was chosen,” Juanita said.
But not everyone’s caught Olympic fever. Violet, 29, from Southport said the Games held here would be a waste of cash.
“I think the money would be better spent helping the homeless population instead of investing again into a Games that didn’t help our economy last time,” she said.
“If other states want to help fund it – that’s cool by me.
“I worked in Southport when the Commonwealth Games were on and it wasn’t good, it didn’t do anything for anyone.”
Some residents, like Mark, 42, from Surfers Paradise, support hosting Olympic events “if it’s done right this time”.
“I think it will be a good thing, but they need to make sure it’s friendly for people and actually welcome them to come here and not tell people not to come,” he said, referencing difficulties during the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
“They shut all the roads down last time (in 2018) and it was super quiet … it was really terrible,” he said.
But he said keeping events in Queensland would benefit local businesses if properly managed.
“The government needs to work with the locals and make sure everyone’s happy.”
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