Allan Border calls for Gabba to be turned into housing, new stadium built at Victoria Park

Playing on its hallowed turf throughout a storied career hasn’t affected Allan Border’s opinion of what needs doing with the Gabba.

• Editor’s view: Get used to it

Queensland will not feature in Cricket Australia’s plans for Test matches after next year’s Ashes due to ongoing uncertainty over the future of the Gabba.

It is understood a seven-year schedule of Test matches due to be unveiled within days locks in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide until the 2030-31 season.

The state government claimed negotiations with Cricket Australia were still ongoing, but in a statement only referred to this season’s match against India and next year’s Ashes series.

The news prompted Australian cricket great Allan Border to publicly throw his support behind the need for a new Brisbane stadium.

“I’d be knocking down the Gabba and building a new venue from scratch at Victoria Park,” Border said.

“A brand new 60,000-seat stadium suits rugby, cricket, Aussie rules and the Olympics, and the Gabba becomes housing.”

Premier Steven Miles abandoned a $2.7bn plan to demolish and rebuild the Gabba for the 2032 Games and after an independent review also rejected a $3.4bn proposal to build a new oval stadium at Victoria Park.

Instead the state will spruce up the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, Suncorp Stadium and the Gabba for a combined $2.7bn.

Queensland cricket legend Allan Border

Border said he understood why Cricket Australia had to leave Brisbane off the fixture list, and warned other sports including AFL were facing the same uncertainty.

“I get where Cricket Australia is coming from,” he said.

“They haven’t got any certainty about the Gabba, so we’re off the roster.

“It’s sad, but they’ve got to have some certainty, probably over the next four years, if they can use the Gabba or not.”

He urged those in charge of the 2032 Games to “get it sorted”.

“Because we have an election coming up, nobody wants to touch the hot potato of announcing where the main venue would be,” he said.

“But I’ll have a crack and say knock the Gabba down for urban renewal, and because it’s on the city fringe, you could probably pay for the Olympics just by selling the property.”

Sport Minister Michael Healy said the government continued to negotiate with Cricket Australia about the future Test cricket content at the Gabba – but confirmed cricket fans could only be guaranteed the previously announced Test matches against India and England.

“As we prepare to host the biggest sporting event in the world in 2032 with the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, we continue to progress venue options, including future improvements to the Gabba,” Mr Healy said.

Cate Campbell has echoed Sally Pearson’s call on Brisbane’s Olympic stadium.

Premier Steven Miles remained adamant that QSAC was Queensland’s best stadium option for 2032 Games on Tuesday after gold medallist Sally Pearson warned the 40,000-seat arena would not cut it on the world stage.

Her thoughts were echoed by Olympic swimmer Cate Campbell, who encouraged Queensland to think bigger and bolder.

“Having had a look at Paris, we need to really have a big think about what we’re going to do and where we’re going to host things,” she said.

“We need our government to think proactively.

“Brisbane and South East Queensland is only going to grow and get bigger – And how can we use these Olympic Games to set things up to the future for the growth of the city?”

Defending the government’s choice to pursue the small $1.6bn stadium over more expensive options at Victoria Park and the Gabba, Mr Miles said QSAC offered the best legacy and had been explicitly put forward by International Olympics Committee Vice President John Coates.

“The IOC is pretty good at running the Olympics, they’ve been doing it for a while now, and I’ll continue to take their counsel,” he said.

“This is the only option that provides an ongoing legacy for athletics, a permanent racing track and facilities for track and field. I think it’s a good option.”

Mr Miles said alternative stadium proposals only offered a new cricket oval and would not deliver anything for athletics.

Transport Minister Bart Mellish said discussions on the future of the Gabba including what sporting events it would be able to hold prior to the 2032 Games were “ongoing,” but could not provide a timeline of when the stadium would be out of action.

“Under previous proposals, the Gabba would be out of action for a number of years, it was proposed as the main athletics venue,” he said.

“So we’re happy to work with all the stakeholders … with Cricket Australia in particular, to make sure we’re securing as much sport as we can up in Queensland and the Olympics is part of that.”

It is yet to be confirmed where sporting teams housed at the Gabba would be relocated during upgrade works.

“I understand that’s still underway in terms of the project valuation reports and discussions would be ongoing for all of the sporting organisations,” Mr Mellish said.

Originally published as Allan Border calls for Gabba to be turned into housing, new stadium built at Victoria Park