Redland council signs whitewater venue deal promising not to compete with Penrith stadium
Redland City Council has inked a deal with a council in NSW promising not to steal its whitewater rafting business when it opens a similar venue ahead of the Brisbane Olympics.
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Redland City Council has inked a deal with a council in NSW promising not to steal its whitewater rafting business when it opens a similar venue in 2027 ahead of the Brisbane Olympics.
The non-competition agreement sparked concerns from Redland community groups, who claimed the $100 million Olympic venue was doomed to fail financially and would be an “eternal” burden on ratepayers.
The deal, signed in January, was designed to ensure financial viability of both whitewater facilities, following reported financial woes of similar venues in Athens, Beijing, Rio, Tokyo and London.
State Government and Redland council representatives travelled to Penrith in Sydney last week to investigate the former Olympic venue in Sydney and honour the non-competition deal.
The memorandum of understanding assures Penrith that Redland will not be in direct competition for its business and would not be fighting over major paddling events.
Redland council major projects and economic development manager Chris Isles said the two councils would now work together to the benefit of both venues.
Mr Isles said the intent of the deal was for the exchange of information, collaboration and partnership between both councils, which are working together to ensure both the Penrith facility and the new Birkdale venue were “first class”.
He said both facilities would be national centres of excellence for canoe slalom with the Redland venue expected to have three
“There is a lot to learn from Penrith Whitewater Stadium,” Mr Isles told southern media.
“The exciting thing for us is we don’t see Penrith and Redland being in competition.
“For us, we see the long-term opportunity of having twin Australian venues as a massive opportunity for us to then attract elite paddling events to Australia.”
The cost to build the Redland Olympic venue at a council-owned site in Birkdale has remained under wraps but the London whitewater stadium, which opened in 2010, cost more than $78 million.
The Community Alliance for Responsible Planning, known as CARP, said the venue contravened the International Olympic Committee policy of using existing facilities and was unnecessary, unwanted and an irresponsible waste of money.
CARP president Lavinia Wood said Olympic policy was designed to avoid a legacy of “white elephant facilities”, with the IOC recommending events should be moved to existing stadiums even if they are outside the host city.
Ms Wood said of the last six Olympic whitewater stadiums built around the world since Sydney 2000, three were abandoned and three were running at a loss.
A centre in Athens was abandoned in 2004, a venue in Beijing closed in 2018 and a site in Rio shut in 2016.
Ms Wood said venues in London, Tokyo and the one in Penrith still operated but were heavily subsidised by governments and have also run at losses.
“The Penrith Whitewater Stadium has run in the red and in February it was announced that responsibility would be taken over by the New South Wales state government on July 1,” she said.
“The NSW government will spend $3.1 million to upgrade the Penrith facility to ensure it is ready to host the Canoe Slalom World Championships in 2025.
“The Penrith facility is this country’s premier world-class canoe slalom facility and has already produced Australian Olympic gold medallist Jessica Fox.
“It would appear that any Memorandum of Understanding between Redland and Penrith with respect to whitewater stadiums is now irrelevant.
“The International Olympic Committee’s new norm policy is intended to stop white elephant Olympic venues burdening host cities by mandating the use of existing ones.
“Organisers of the Brisbane 2032 Olympics should honour IOC policy and use the existing Penrith stadium for the canoe slalom events.”
The state and federally-funded Olympic whitewater rafting venue will be part of a $300 million community hub at the Birkdale site.
Once completed, the Olympic complex will be handed to Redland City Council to manage and maintain with initial estimated costs of an annual $2 million a year.
The federal government sold the land to the council on the conditions that the site’s heritage and wildlife were protected.
The council allocated $12.7 million this financial year on the precinct with site preparation and earthworks on a “community” section, including restoration work on the historic Willards Farm, under way.
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