Gold Coast boutique stadium: Locations revealed for new music and sports venues
The Gold Coast will have at least two boutique stadiums built by 2032, in the first shot fired in the race to turn the city into a global mecca ahead of the Olympic Games. PICTURES AND LOCATIONS REVEALED
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THE Gold Coast will have at least two boutique stadiums built by 2032, in the first shot fired in the race to turn the city into a global events mecca ahead of the Olympic Games.
Southport Sharks has unveiled a masterplan for its Olsen Ave base to be transformed into a giant sports and entertainment precinct, complete with hotel and residential towers and a stadium capable of hosting 8000-10,000 people.
At Bundall, the Gold Coast City Council is well-advanced in planning its own 10,000-12,000-seat stadium.
Councillors will be briefed on the project in early 2022 but the Bulletin understands it will have a closed or retractable roof and is planned for a site near the light rail route.
At least two locations in the city’s central region have been short-listed.
Both parties say their projects would not cannibalise the other as they would be targeted to slightly different markets.
The Sharks proposal is an outdoor arena geared towards international sport and concerts. The council wants to zero in on concerts, e-sports and conferences.
The announcements are part of the Bulletin’s Future Gold Coast: Our Golden Opportunity campaign to maximise the one-in-a-lifetime spotlight of hosting the Olympic Games.
Gold Coast will be home to a number of sports – alongside Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast – and have a satellite athletes village built in Robina.
City leaders say the debate about what the city needs to leverage from the world’s biggest sporting event needs to start today. Over the next month, the Bulletin’s Future Gold Coast series will dive into those conversations and explore the infrastructure, political will, education, big business and lifestyle requirements needed to achieve that goal.
The Bulletin revealed on Saturday that Brisbane entertainment king Harvey Lister wants to spend $750m transforming the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre into a global showpiece. Mr Lister’s plan would include capacity for a 12,000-seat stadium for international conferences, concerts and the booming e-sports market, a 2000-seat ballroom, three exhibition halls and the doubling of the light rail corridor.
Mayor Tom Tate said the council’s boutique stadium, like the extension of light rail and building of the Coomera Connector, was vital to the city’s 2032 Olympics legacy.
“We are actively talking about this concept with several parties,” Cr Tate told the Bulletin.
“I’m confident it will be built well before the 2032 Games and I will be asking that it is included in the Games-venue mix which will hopefully improve my discussions with the board about securing more sports and events for our city as part of the Games.
“Council’s final investment will depend on where the boutique stadium is built. Once we have more detail, I will bring it back to full council for their consideration. This will happen in the first quarter of 2022.”
The Sharks proposal will include purpose-built facilities for female sport, live outdoor music and events, an aquatic centre, outdoor basketball and netball courts and capacity to accommodate rectangular field sports such as soccer.
Sharks CEO Dean Bowtell said the project would be operational by 2032.
“We see an important role for Southport Sharks in making the Gold Coast the capital of women’s sport in Australia, and we are excited by just how much having the right venue in the right location will assist as our city works towards that goal,” he said.
“In the lead up to the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we are very focused on the opportunity for Southport Sharks to be a cornerstone of Queensland’s emerging sports tech sector.
“We will keep building on our assets and the capabilities of our team, both on and off the field, to partner with other organisations in areas like athlete management, data analytics, wearables, fan engagement, stadium experience, esports and media, to position the precinct as the leading centre for sports tech in Queensland.”
To fund the project, Sharks are exploring a mix of public and private funding models. The club says it will bear the bulk of the cost.
The master plan also includes residential development components such as built-to-rent, retirement living and affordable housing.
Sharks have included this in response to the acute need for additional housing on the Gold Coast.
It also proposes new facilities to support business, events and broadcasting and the sports tech sector, the club says.
The Bulletin revealed in December 2019 that the state government had held early talks with Live Nation, one of the world’s biggest music promoters, to build the stadium on the Coast.
At the time, Live Nation said there was enough demand in the city for live music, but there was nowhere sufficient to bring the acts.
US-based entertainment giant Live Nation has brought headline acts such as U2, The Pixies, Rod Stewart and the Dave Matthews Band to Australia in recent years.
None of them played the Gold Coast because the city does not have a specialised music hub. Bigger stadiums such as Metricon Stadium at Carrara are considered unsuitable because they are too big.
Under a plan put forward by Cr Tate in 2020:
● Council would contribute city-owned land and road infrastructure while the private operator would be given a long-term lease and fund the construction of the complex. Council would retain the right to use the venue for city events on a certain number of days each year.
● A short-list of three sites – in Parkwood, Southport and Miami – were on the table. The Miami depot is considered a frontrunner given its proximity to Pizzey Park which is about to undergo a $20m makeover.
● It would have a partially retractable roof and be convertible to host everything from soccer, rugby union, basketball, car shows and large-scale conventions.
Cr Tate has previously indicated plans to approach the state and federal governments to assist fund upgrades to road infrastructure around the site of the stadium.
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