The true cost of rebuilding the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre revealed

An Olympic stadium at QSAC would have cost a staggering $650m more than former premier Steven Miles spruiked to Queenslanders according to leaked documents.

Queensland Sports and Athletic Centre, or QSAC. Picture: Supplied

An Olympic stadium at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC) would have cost a staggering $2.25bn – $650m more than former premier Steven Miles spruiked to Queenslanders less than a year ago, leaked documents have revealed.

The previous Labor government shelved Annastasia Palaszczuk’s plans to redevelop the Gabba in March 2024 after costs blew out to $2.7bn.

In its place, Mr Miles announced a $1.6bn plan to upgrade QSAC at Nathan to host athletics, while ceremonies would be moved to Suncorp Stadium, pitching the switch as a cost-effective solution that would avoid displacing sports clubs and make use of existing infrastructure.

But newly uncovered documents – signed off by the Olympic delivery authority, now known as the Games Independent Infrastructure and Co-ordination Authority (GIICA) – show the true cost of the project was 40 per cent higher than claimed.

Deputy Premier and State Development, Infrastructure and Planning Minister Jarrod Bleijie said the ballooned figure proved the QSAC upgrade was the wrong choice for the 2032 Games.

“This is not just another Labor budget blowout, but the centrepiece project in (Opposition Leader) Steven Miles’ Olympic and Paralympic Games plan that was rejected at the last state election,” he said. “It also shows why the only person that thought QSAC was a good idea was Steven Miles.”

Mr Bleijie said the LNP government would now focus on getting the 2032 Games back on track “after more than 1200 days of chaos and crisis”.

Steven Miles. pic: Lyndon Mechielsen/Courier Mail

The move to QSAC flew in the face of the independent review led by former Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk which recommended a $3.4bn investment in a new Victoria Park precinct, with Labor instead choosing to funnel funds into the ageing Nathan venue, which already had a seat capacity of 48,500.

The review, which emphatically declared a QSAC upgrade a waste of money with no opportunity to create “any significant legacy” to benefit Queensland, cost taxpayers $450,000.

At the time, Mr Miles said he believed it was a plan to utilise existing facilities and have more certainty on costs.

“Queenslanders are struggling with housing and other costs. I cannot justify to them spending $3.4bn on a new stadium,” he said.

The LNP heavily criticised Labor’s handling of the Olympic venue plans and in October officially quashed any prospect of it being considered as the Olympics’ main stage under an elected Liberal government.

Action from the Queensland Athletics track and field championships at QSAC. Picture: Stephen Archer.

Premier David Crisafulli previously called the former Labor government’s selection of QSAC “cringeworthy” and a “horrendous plan” that was not worth taxpayer money.

He pledged that he would not build a new stadium and insisted the 100-day Olympic infrastructure review would recommend legacy value projects.

The findings of the 100-day review will be announced on Tuesday at The Courier-Mail’s Future Brisbane lunch.

Originally published as The true cost of rebuilding the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre revealed