Brisbane 2032: Games village switch ‘would save billions’

The relocation of the main athletes’ village for the Brisbane Olympics would help plug a multibillion-dollar hole in the infrastructure budget.

Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie in Brisbane. Picture: Tertius Pickard

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The relocation of the main athletes’ village for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics would help plug a multibillion-dollar hole in the Games infrastructure budget under a deal being eyed by the Queensland government as a pillar of its venues plan to be unveiled next week.

Instead of consuming the lion’s share of the unfunded $3.5bn cost of accommodating an expected 22,000 athletes and officials, the main village could be built for $300m were it shifted from the proposed riverside site at Northshore Hamilton to the RNA showgrounds on the lip of the CBD.

The Australian understands this is a surprise option advanced in the Games Independent Infrastructure and Co-ordination Authority review that will also back building the Olympic ­stadium at Victoria Park, about 1km from the home of Brisbane’s famed Ekka show.

The five-month-old Liberal National Party government under David Crisafulli is desperate to find savings to keep the venues spend within the $7.1bn envelope of a cost-sharing agreement struck with Canberra.

Premier David Crisafulli during question time. Picture: Steve Pohlner

Mr Crisafulli, in the most testing decision of his premiership to date, is weighing whether to axe or postpone until after the Games construction of a 17,000-seat arena opposite the ageing Gabba cricket and AFL ground where the Olympic swimming would be staged in a drop-in pool.

The savings, of at least $2.5bn, would be redirected to other ­venues, including the stadium. Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie refused to be drawn on Friday on the review’s recommendations or the state’s response ahead of next Tuesday’s announcement.

The cost of the main athletes’ village would be slashed if relocated to the showgrounds because services such as sewerage, water and power are already in place, sources familiar with the proposal say. This is due to a 15-year joint venture between the Royal ­National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland, owner-operator of the Ekka, and construction giant Lendlease to dot the precinct with apartment towers, hotels, a convention centre as well as new office and retail space and car parking.

In a statement on Friday, the RNA (the Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland) and Lendlease confirmed they had submitted a proposal to the Games authority, GIICA, to develop the athletes’ village at the showgrounds. “As a location, the Brisbane Showgrounds has the potential to deliver an exceptional experience for the world’s greatest athletes, showcase the best of Queensland and deliver a positive legacy for the whole state,” the partners said.

The RNA Showgrounds. Picture, John Gass

Mr Crisafulli faces a tricky task in selling the Victoria Park stadium development after repeatedly ruling out the pricey build, projected to top $3.5bn, in the run-up to last October’s state election.

But he said the LNP government was open to engaging with the private sector, potentially through public-private partnerships, to ease the financial burden on taxpayers. A joint venture between the RNA and Lendlease to build the athletes’ village would be in line with this thinking.

It would also allow the government to sell the Northshore Hamilton site to further offset the cost of building and upgrading Games venues. The Australian has been told that the true cost of the program could be up to $14bn.

Mr Bleijie, who has carriage of the Olympic infrastructure program as State Development Minister, warned in January that state Labor governments under Annastacia Palaszczuk and Steven Miles had allocated only $155m to athlete accommodation centres, leaving a shortfall of $3.345bn.

Asked about the future of the villages, Mr Bleijie said on Friday: “We will have our plan released on March 25 where we will address the issue of the athlete villages, noting that I have previously announced the athlete villages have blown out to $3.5bn under the Steven Miles Labor Party.”

Under existing plans, a network of at least four villages would be constructed in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Gold Coast hinterland and Sunshine Coast, to be converted into housing afterwards.

Lendlease delivered athlete villages for the Sydney 2000 and London 2012 Olympics.

Additional reporting: Sarah Elks, Elodie Jakes.