Why Brisbane must follow LA’s lead and put our best Olympic sport on the biggest stage

Is it time the cauldron was converted into a river of gold? That’s the question that critics of Queensland’s cut-price planning for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics should be asking, writes JULIAN LINDEN.

Is it time the cauldron was converted into a river of gold?

That’s the question that critics of Queensland’s cut-price planning for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics should be asking themselves as organisers of the 2028 Los Angeles Games prepare to unveil their most ambitious idea yet.

The details remain a closely-guarded secret because the International Olympic Committee (IOC) still hasn’t signed off on the wild proposal, but this masthead can reveal that LA’s forward-thinking leaders intend to stage the swimming competition inside the same behemoth stadium that has been used to stage the Super Bowl and Taylor Swift’s Era Tour concerts.

According to highly-placed sources who were not authorised to speak publicly ahead of a formal announcement, SoFi Stadium will be the ultimate left-field venue for the Olympic swimming events in 2028.

SoFi Stadium, seen above in Los Angeles before the 2022 Superbowl, has been floated as a spectacular venue for the swimming events at the 2028 Olympics. Picture: Getty Images

The choice of SoFi Stadium is not only a game changer for Australia’s favourite Olympic sport but should also embarrass Brisbane’s dawdling officials for their unimaginative, penny-pinching approach to staging the greatest show in world sport.

If they haven’t already, Brisbane’s organisers should take their cue from the Americans and consider transforming Suncorp Stadium into an Aussie golden billabong so as many people as possible can see the Dolphins perform live in 2032.

Other Olympic hosts have been bold enough to think outside the square. It’s time Brisbane did the same.

In 1908, the swimming events at the London Olympics took place in front of massive crowds of 68,000 after a custom-built 100-metre pool was built in the infield of White City Stadium, surrounded by a 330m horseshoe-shaped running track made from crushed cinders.

Taylor Swift played to crowds over 100,000 when she took The Eras Tour to SoFi Stadium. Picture: Getty Images

In 1896, daily crowds of more than 20,000 packed the shores around the Bay of Zea near Piraeus in Greece to watch the swimming, which took place in open water. The swimming races at the 1900 Paris Olympics were also held outdoors, on the River Seine, with spectators lining the banks to see the races.

Swimming has grown into one of the most-watched Olympic sports - seen by billions of eyeballs on television sets in every corner of the globe - but the numbers that get to watch poolside are always down because too many host cities opt for cosy, restricted venues.

But the days of conservative thinking will end forever in 2028 because SoFi Stadium is a sporting and entertainment colossus that is the regular home of the two Los Angeles-based NFL teams, the Rams and the Chargers.

Opened in 2020, it hosted the Super Bowl in 2022 and will do so again in 2027. The sprawling venue typically holds 70,000 spectators but capacity was increased to over 100,000 to accommodate Tay Tay’s Californian Swifties.

Kaylee McKeown and Emma McKeon are swimming superstars. Picture: Nigel Hallett

While the recommendation to host the nine-day swimming program in 2028 is in tune with Tinseltown’s obsession with glitzy big shows, it does also presents some logistic challenges.

Organisers in the City of Angels will not only need to design and construct a temporary pool inside the stadium, but they will also have to do it very quickly while getting approval to rearrange the existing Olympic schedule, delaying the start of the swimming program.

Olympic swimming normally kicks off the day immediately after the Opening Ceremony but because the parade of nations and lighting of the cauldron is taking place in SoFi Stadium on July 14, 2028, swimming will need to be pushed back so workers can assemble the temporary pool and fill it with water.

Aussie sports fans love the Olympic swimming team. Picture: Alex Coppel.

USA Swimming is testing the water by staging its national trials for this year’s Paris Olympics in downtown Indianapolis, at Lucas Oil Stadium, which hosted the 2012 Super Bowl. Australia’s trials are taking place at the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, built for the 1982 Commonwealth Games.

American swimming insiders said the idea of racing in a football stadium at the 2028 Olympics stemmed from not only wanting to showcase the sport on a bigger stage but also needing to get the best bang for their buck after figuring out financing a brand new facility just didn’t add up.

French officials reached the same conclusion so will be holding this year’s swimming events at La Defense Arena, a Parisian rugby field that has been transformed into a temporary aquatics venue.

Europe’s largest-indoor venue, every ticket to every session of swimming has already sold out.

Getting ready for the Brisbane Games? Picture: John Gass

There’s no question swimming will be the hottest ticket in Australia in 2032 so the conundrum for Brisbane’s 2032 organisers is finding a venue big enough to allow as many Australians as possible see the Dolphins in action while they are enjoying a golden era of success.

It nearly happened in 2000 when organisers of the Sydney Olympics floated the idea of holding the swimming events at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Ahead of their time, it was considered too risky so they opted instead for the safer option of adding thousands of extra seats to the Aquatic Centre at Homebush Bay.

It was still a blockbuster hit because they sold every single ticket, but when Ian Thorpe surfaced, hindsight showed more Australians could have seen history made with their own eyes if only officials had backed their gut instincts.

That’s the dilemma now facing Brisbane’s organisers, who have already rejected Swimming Australia’s request for a new facility.

The preference is for a temporary drop-in pool at the yet to be approved Brisbane Arena on the Roma Street precinct but that still offers far fewer seats than Suncorp, which is already short-listed as one of the venues for 2032.

If organisers are serious about leaving a lasting legacy, they might need to start dreaming bigger.