Senators told Gabba rebuild will cost AFL tens of millions with executives in the dark over Lions displacement

A controversial $2.7bn plan to knock down and rebuild a stadium for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics has come under scrutiny.

A major refurbishment of an iconic Brisbane sporting ground for the 2032 Olympics could “easily” cost the AFL tens of millions of dollars, an inquiry has been told, with executives still in the dark over the fate of a soon-to-be-displaced star team.

Federal and state governments are pouring $7bn into building and revamping sporting venues across Brisbane in preparation for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

A parliamentary probe on Thursday was told contentious plans to knock down and rebuild the Gabba cricket stadium, the home club of the Brisbane Lions, could cost the league twice as much as what the club brought in every year.

“We generate about 16 to $18m per annum from the stadium, in terms of that’s what Brisbane Lions generate. That is a very direct impact initially, but there are a whole other range of impacts – membership declining, corporate sponsorship declining,” AFL’s general manager of property development Matthew Chun said.

The Brisbane Lions will be displaced for four years when the Gabba is demolished in 2025. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos.

“There’s a big range in that depending where we get displaced to. It could easily be double.”

Earlier, Mr Chun was quizzed by Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie on the AFL’s plans to relocate the Lions after the Gabba stadium is knocked down in December 2025.

The rebuild, which will increase the field’s total seat capacity from 42,000 to 50,000 seats, will be funded entirely by the state government under its deal with the Commonwealth.

Mr Chun said a brief from the Palaszczuk government to outline where the Brisbane team should go after they are kicked out was “imminent.”

“I don’t know what imminent means but we’re hoping it will be as soon as possible,” he elaborated.

Former NRL star slams axed Games

Earlier, a former NRL champion slammed the “elite” Commonwealth Games calling for more funding into struggling local sports clubs and action to deal with rising homelessness.

Queensland State of Origin star turned Mackay councillor Martin Bella told a parliamentary probe into the axed sporting event that he hoped a 2026 Games went ahead but said there were a number of urgent issues that needed to be dealt with.

“We’ve got a large homeless issue, we’ve got very few rental vacancies, we’ve got a highway that is not fit for purpose and we’ve got people struggling to find tradesmen and materials and we’re finding them at increased prices,” he told senators.

“As far as sports are concerned, the suggestion that elite sport is a direct influencer of sport participation is a fallacy.

“I want to be sure in this process over the next 10 years, the kids living on the outskirts of the region aren’t forgotten and the 500 or so people living rough and the extra 1000 who are sleeping in irregular places such as garages and people’s couches aren’t facing the worst situation because of our focus is on – to put it bluntly – an elite event.”

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said if the 2026 Games were to have a ‘meaningful legacy’ it should focus on benefiting local communities. Picture: Shae Beplate.

Victoria controversially scrapped plans to hold the 2626 Commonwealth Games in July after it said it was not prepared to spend as much as $7bn on “a 12-day sporting event”. So far, no state or territory in Australia has expressed interest in taking up the mantle, leaving officials to scramble to find a host city before the year’s end.

Meanwhile, Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said local sporting clubs in regional Queensland were “crying out” for upgrades and said councils had become increasingly disillusioned with the upcoming 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.

“The closer we get to 2032 the more it seems that the Games will be just like all the others, far more focused on new or renovated infrastructure for elite sports centres in the host city at the taxpayers’ expense,” Ms Hill told a public hearing.

“In short, state and federal governments need to be held to account to ensure that the Olympic and Paralympic Games aren’t a flash in the pan to accelerate tech projects in the greater Brisbane and Gold Coast. They must have lasting benefits for the entirety of Queensland.”