Mayor Tom Tate accepting tenders to build indoor stadium for Gold Coast
The Gold Coast has a deficit of indoor entertainment stadiums for its population and must pursue a new major event centre or risk losing billions of dollars.
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The Gold Coast has a deficit of indoor entertainment stadiums for its population and must pursue a new major event centre or risk losing billions of dollars, a report warns.
City councillors, in a closed session briefing, have been told Brisbane, the Olympic host city, will gain a stranglehold on the lucrative entertainment, convention and sporting market courtesy of the 2032 Olympic Games.
“Six new venues including Brisbane Arena will be developed in time to host competition events for Brisbane 2032,” the City officer’s report says.
“Construction of new venues is scheduled to commence from 2025 and all new venues will be delivered at least 12 months ahead of the Games.”
No costings have been made public but industry insiders estimate Robina Stadium was expected to deliver $1.2 billion economic return to Queensland across 10 years, attracting 433,000 people a year.
Most of that money would flow locally. An indoor stadium would only be slightly smaller.
The city was warned in 2019 it needed to expand the existing convention centre at Broadbeach so it “incorporates larger convention space and or entertainment facilities to capture currently missed opportunities”.
The last expansion was in 2008. If a deal had been reached between the state government and The Star casino in 2019, the expanded venue would have opened in 2025.
On the back of the latest City officer report, council on July 10 put out expressions of interest for an indoor stadium. The offer closes on August 15.
Mayor Tom Tate told the Bulletin: “During the 2020 local council election campaign, I made a commitment to pursue a boutique stadium for our city.
“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.
“C-Bus 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.”
The Bulletin asked Mr Tate about the level of interest in the tender process.
“I will not comment specifically on the tender process as that is with the administration but I look forward to a report coming to council for full consideration,” he said.
“Let’s bring this project to reality and seize the opportunities that exist out there for more events for the Coast.’’
A site for an indoor stadium would need to be between 1.5 to 2ha with a price tag for the build ranging from $250 million to $350 million and – at its peak – $750 million.
The Southport Sharks have previously produced a masterplan for their Olsen Ave base to be transformed into a giant sports and entertainment precinct.
Other council-owned sites being mentioned include the Miami council depot close to Pizzey Park which is to undergo a $20m makeover.
The Bruce Bishop car park, which continues to attract private investors, has been mentioned along with the two old car parks – Athol Paterson in Lawson Street or Mal Burke opposite the courts in the Southport CBD.
Another site location was directly east of Pacific Fair. Promoters are eager to expand the Convention Centre. A successful site must be close to light rail.
If the City receives more than one offer and both want to utilise council land, a probity officer would need to be appointed and an expression of interests campaign launched.
“There are no capital budget requirements at this stage. It is anticipated that the Stage 1 market engagement process will identify what is requested from the City as a financial, land or other contribution,” the report said.
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