‘Budget black hole’: Brisbane’s Olympic village $3.5bn shortfall revealed

Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has claimed the former state gov allocated just $155m towards building the four Olympic Games athletes villages to house 16,000 athletics in Brisbane 2032.

The Paris 2024 Athletes Olympic Village

The state government faces a $3.5bn funding black hole to build four Olympic Games athletes villages – the equivalent of the price tag of building a new stadium.

Queensland Treasury analysis provided to the state government found the cost of constructing villages in Brisbane, Kooralbyn, the Sunshine and Gold Coasts to house more than 16,000 athletes during the 2032 Games was forecast to cost $3.5bn.

However, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said the former state government had allocated just $155m – less than 1 per cent – to the eye-watering building cost.

The equivalent of four Q1 buildings would be needed to house 10,000 athletes at the Northshore Hamilton village.

There is a funding shortage for the Brisbane Olympics villages.

Organisers of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games built their athlete village on a 54-hectare site.

Ten sprawling buildings housed up to eight athletes across some 2800 apartments.

The former Labor government planned to build the main 2032 athletes village within a 304-hectare priority development area at Northshore Hamilton.

A satellite village at Robina Town Centre on the Gold Coast is slated to house 2600 athletes in 500 apartments while on the Sunshine Coast 1400 people would stay in 350 units.

Some 1200 athletes and officials competing at the Wyaralong Flat Water Centre would stay 40 minutes away at the Kooralbyn Satellite Village – 96km southwest of Brisbane.

Mr Bleijie said the $155m allocated by the state government was only to build suburban streets and paths for the proposed villages, leaving a $3.34bn cash shortfall.

“Steven Miles and Cameron Dick have yet again been caught short with another massive Labor con job and budget blackhole,” he said.

“Labor must come clean with Queenslanders and explain whether they either forgot that more than 22,000 athletes needed accommodation or if they deliberately misled Queenslanders before the election.”

While the funding had not been allocated, it is understood the former government had left the progress of the projects to Economic Development Queensland.

The former government could have also tapped private investors to ease the cost of the village.

Aerial of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games athlete village in Saint-Denis, Paris.

United Arab Emirates-based Abu Dhabi Investment Council in 2014 tipped cash into the Gold Coast’s $500m Commonwealth Games Athletes Village.

The location of the 2032 athletes villages is being assessed as part of the state government’s 100-day infrastructure review.

With a push to create a sporting precinct at Victoria Park, Brisbane’s athletes village could also be relocated to vacant inner-city land nearby.

“Utilising the athletes villages to help ease the housing crisis, after the Olympics and Paralympics conclude, will also create a long-term legacy well beyond the Games,” Mr Bleijie said.

“Following the Independent Coordination Authority’s review the Crisafulli Government will get on with the job and deliver the Games infrastructure that is needed to deliver a world-class event.”

Business cases for the villages were ongoing.

However, Economic Development Queensland this year allocated $44m as part of $410m of civil works to prepare Northshore Hamilton for development.

Originally published as ‘Budget black hole’: Brisbane’s Olympic village $3.5bn shortfall revealed