Exclusive: Southport to be ‘put on the map’ with favoured site for indoor live stadium

Councillors have met behind closed doors to discuss plans for a boutique stadium. And a shock location has emerged for the proposed site. Find out more.

The Gold Coast indoor entertainment and sports stadium will be located in Southport, it can be revealed after councillors met in a closed door meetings to consider the best sites.

An indoor stadium would need a site of at least 1.5 to 2ha with a price tag for the build ranging from $250 million to $350 million. The venue could hold up to 12,000 people.

An assessment by council found Southport was the preferred location with three potential future sites – Carey Park fronting the Broadwater, along with Athol Paterson car park and Mal Burke car park several blocks back west in the CBD.

Ruled out is the Broadbeach Cultural Centre site opposite Pacific Fair – which sparked a community protest – along with upgrades at the existing Convention and Entertainment Centre and Southport Sharks. A music industry source told the Bulletin: “The people wanting to build the stadium had to list their preferred sites. They clearly indicated it was Southport.

One of the sites being considered for the Gold Coast's boutique indoor stadium. It is opposite Pacific Fair.

“This will work as a catalyst to progress the revival of the CBD. It also works for light rail, it works for ease of access. In the bigger picture this will absolutely put Southport on the map again.”

A political source confirmed the options of upgrading the Bruce Bishop car park in Surfers Paradise and the Broadbeach site “contained a number of constraints” including traffic.

“The council owns a number of key landmarks in Southport. This will make sense as a catalyst to get things going in the CBD,” the source said.

“They (the sites) are right on the light rail and two stops from Surfers. Southport is firming as the right location, and it will be easier to be done there.”

Aerial view of Carey Park at Southport — a site supported by the music industry for an indoor live entertainment centre. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

Councillors late during Tuesday’s full council meeting as a final item of business went into a lengthy closed session to discuss the “site assessment outcomes”.

They unanimously backed an officer recommendation that they give in-principle support to a preferred site “subject to consultation with the relevant parties”.

Council CEO Tim Baker as part of the recommendation will consult with the stakeholders, conduct further due diligence and “market sounding”. He will create a “delivery model”.

Council must undertake “community, business and stakeholder engagement” but that can only occur after first talking to operators and land owners.

The Athol Paterson carpark is a large outdoor parking near the Southport Library in Lawson Street. The two-storey Mal Burke car park in Hicks Street has been earmarked for a potential future “tower of power’ for government agencies.

Carey Park covers an area of 9.3ha fronting the Gold Coast Highway and opposite the Broadwater Parklands, and an obvious favourite given it has a light rail station next to it.

Aerial view of Carey Park at Southport. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

The site was a favoured by both investors and state government tourism bureaucrats when the idea of a global tourism hub with a casino was explored then dropped in 2020.

Tom Tate and councillors are unable to comment because the report remains commercial in confidence, but the Mayor last year talked up an indoor stadium

An earlier report warned the Coast had a deficit of indoor entertainment stadiums for its population and must pursue a new major event centre or risk losing billions of dollars.

Brisbane would gain a stranglehold on the lucrative entertainment, convention and sporting market courtesy of the 2032 Olympic Games.

Concept drawings for Brisbane Live at Roma Street, as part of the Cross River Rail project.

“Six new venues including Brisbane Arena will be developed in time to host competition events for Brisbane 2032,” the council officer report said.

Council put expressions of interest for an indoor stadium, with Mr Tate determined to pursue an election commitment made in 2020.

“For years, I have heard from global festival and concert promoters, as well as local sports and events organisations, how there is a gap in our built-form infrastructure when it comes to venues,” he said.

“Cbus is great, Heritage Bank Stadium is great and other indoor venues are also enjoying strong bookings but there is no doubt we have missed out on a lot of opportunities to host sporting events, or festivals, where the promoters are seeking an audience around 10,000-12,000 people.

“The time is now given we are charging towards a population of one million people.”

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