Brisbane 2032 Olympics: Preferred option for Olympic rowing would have cost a bomb

It would have cost hundreds of millions of dollars to accommodate Olympic rowing at the preferred site in Queensland, it has been revealed. HEAR THE PODCAST

Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games venue review panel chair Stephen Conry

The panel reviewing Queensland’s Olympic venues investigated digging a new lake to host Olympic rowing before later deciding it should be moved to Penrith.

Finding a suitable venue for rowing was the among the most difficult challenges for experts during the 100-day Olympic infrastructure review.

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Panel chair Stephen Conry told The Courier-Mail’s Toward the Gamespodcast the panel considered digging a new lake to host the sport – which requires a 2km straight and warm-up area.

The investigation did not consider a location, but how possible the process would be.

“I think eight options were listed as options for the rowing, we actually explored others like building a new lake,” he said.

“I mean literally building a man-made lake because that would, in our view, be cheaper than what the preferred option was.”

The Scenic Rim’s Lake Wyaralong was the preferred option, but Mr Conry said it was too expensive.

“It’s where a lot of the school rowing is, but the cost around that for an Olympic event were just astronomical,” he said.

“We would have to have spent $100m to upgrade the road, which wasn’t necessarily needed for legacy.”

Mr Conry said $50m was needed for the infrastructure around Lake Wyaralong and $200m to build an athletes’ village nearby.

While the panel recommended the rowing go to the Sydney International Regatta at Penrith, the state government determined it should be held at Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River.

It was one of a few recommendations made by the panel not endorsed by the government.

Asked if Deputy Premier and Infrastructure Minister Jarrod Bleijie had attempted to enforce his views on the independent review panel, Mr Conry said there was a consultation process.

“They were directing their views and we expect them to be,” he said.

“We also knew that whatever we put in our report, they were recommendations, the government could then accept or reject those recommendations.”

Mr Conry said the board was unified during the process and steadfast in its support for the inner-city Brisbane Arena to be built.

“The board was very firm on the big picture items like an arena, like a stadium, in fact I can’t think of much where there was disagreement,” he said.

“There was a lot of debate which then led to an agreement.”

The GPS Head of the River competition at Lake Wyaralong

Originally published as Brisbane 2032 Olympics: Preferred option for Olympic rowing would have cost a bomb