Steven Miles says the Gold Coast could ‘totally’ host main ceremonies for Brisbane’s Olympics

Queensland Premier Steven Miles flagged the centrepiece events for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics could be held on the Gold Coast if the controversial Gabba rebuild is axed.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles has flagged the centrepiece events for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics could be held on the Gold Coast if the controversial Gabba rebuild is axed.

A plan to demolish and redevelop the Gabba as Brisbane’s main Olympics venue is being probed by an infrastructure review led by former Liberal National lord mayor Graham Quirk.

Costs to rebuild the Gabba – which was set to hold the athletics as well as the opening and closing ceremonies for the 2032 Games – have already blown out by 170 per cent on preliminary costings to $2.7bn, sparking calls for the redevelopment to be dumped.

Speaking at a Queensland Media Club lunch on Tuesday, Mr Miles said the Quirk review was still considering options but the Gold Coast could “totally host the opening ceremony if they want”.

The 25,000-seat Carrara Stadium hosted ceremonies for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and has been touted as a potential alternative to the Gabba.

In a 2021 feasibility report, the International Olympic Committee recommended Brisbane use the existing 40,000-seat Gabba for opening and closing ceremonies and Carrara, which can extend to 40,000 seats with a temporary grandstand, for athletics.

Fireworks during the closing ceremony for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games at Carrara Stadium in April 2018. Picture: Getty Images

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner does not support the $2.7bn Gabba rebuild but believes the opening and closing ceremonies should be held in the capital, which he was “still confident will happen”.

“I’ve previously voiced my support for holding the opening and closing ceremonies on the Brisbane River and I’ll continue to advocate for this to be a free event for all residents and visitors,” he told The Australian.

Paris will host the 2024 Games opening ceremony along the River Seine, the first time the showpiece event has been held outside a stadium.

Mr Miles, who championed the Gabba rebuild as Annastacia Palaszczuk’s Olympics infrastructure minister, said he had believed the Gabba was the best option with legacy benefits for Brisbane, but acknowledged he had failed to sell the plan to taxpayers.

“I don’t think I’d succeeded at convincing Queenslanders,” Mr Miles said.

“Queenslanders were saying to me everywhere I went that they thought there should be an alternative, they didn’t think that was a good use of money in the context of housing shortages, cost of living, all of the other challenges.

“I think in the face of changed circumstances and feedback from the community, it’s entirely appropriate for a leader to change their mind.”

Mr Miles said that as Olympics infrastructure minister he had asked his department to provide alternatives to the Gabba rebuild but “none were very good”.

“So it’s entirely possible this review comes back and says that we have to go with that original plan, and if that is the outcome, I hope that puts the division and bitterness and politics to one side and we can get on with building,” he said.

“But if there is an alternative, well, that’s great news too.”

Mr Quirk, Brisbane lord mayor from 2011-19 and central to the city’s original Olympics push, will deliver the findings of his review to the government on March 18. His terms of reference are to assess infrastructure investment against “key criteria” including value for money, community legacy, deliverability and fitness for purpose.

A separate independent delivery authority will also be set up by the middle of the year to manage the multibillion-dollar Olympic infrastructure program.