Gold Coast Arena: Proposed indoor entertainment venue sparks investor spike

A proposed giant 12,000-seat arena in the heart of Southport is set to transform not just Carey Park but lead to massive changes across the suburb. FIND OUT MORE

The unveiling of a giant 12,000-seat arena in the heart of Southport has unlocked an unexpected flurry of overseas investor interest in the Gold Coast’s CBD.

Real estate figures say they have been inundated with inquiries from domestic and international buyers for available sites near the proposed events space, which is earmarked for the state-owned Carey Park site on Marine Parade.

The council is pitching the area, which is currently out for public consultation, as the key to making the city “one of Australia’s entertainment capitals”.

Artist impression of the proposed Gold Coast Arena at Carey Park, Southport. Picture: Supplied by Gold Coast City Council

Canford Estate Agents boss Roland Evans said prospective investors were intrigued by the development, which council says will deliver more than $1.5bn of economic output during its first decade.

Mr Evans said there had been surprise interest from Japan, a market which was previously a major investor in the Gold Coast during the 1980s until the late-90s Asia financial crisis saw it taper off.

“The level of inquires has increased since the notification that (council) is considering Carey Park as the venue for the area and we are seeing not just improved local interest but nationally and especially internationally,” he said.

Canford’s Roland Evans. Photo: Supplied

“I was in Vietnam and Japan recently and the awareness of what is happening here is really getting the attention of overseas buyers, while we are also getting inquiries out of Japan.

“The reason is because their population is in steep decline and their developers are now looking offshore for growth because their domestic market is not performing, so their traditional companies are now refocusing their attention here for the first time since the 1990s.”

Mr Evans said the number of inquiries had grown so much he had been asked to travel to Japan to discuss investment in sites around the area, including the nearby Star of the Sea site, which has sat empty for nearly a decade.

Aerial photograph of the Star of the Sea site in Southport.

It comes ahead of council preparing a masterplan, which they hope will revive the area’s fortunes and ensure that its many failed development sites are activated at long last.

“Southport is our city’s CBD and I continue to be very confident in its future,” Mayor Tom Tate said in October.

“We are progressing the Southport Masterplan and are expecting a report to council in the first quarter of 2025.”

Several key development parcels, including ASF’S Scarborough St site, on which they had secured the green light for a pair of golden towers, have recently been put on the market.

Long-time Southport developer Robert Badalotti, who later this week will open the first stage of his Imperial Square project, said he anticipated a significant uptick in investment in the suburb in coming years.

“This arena will be the best thing that could happen to the CBD because it will 100 per cent unlock investment in a chain reaction,” he said.

“Something will happen, it then will trigger others and this is what we need to see happen here.

“It is these kinds of signature developments which can make all the difference.”

Council says construction of the arena could begin as early as 2026 if funding is secured.