Premier David Crisafulli pressed to reverse ‘no new stadium’ pledge for 2032 Olympics

The surprise move by 2032 Olympic Games organising boss Andrew Liveris to back a new Brisbane stadium intensifies pressure on the Queensland Premier to abandon an election pledge on the issue.

Brisbane’s powerful 2032 Olympic Games boss Andrew Liveris says a new stadium should be built at Victoria Park.

David Crisafulli is under mounting pressure to break his first election promise as Queensland Premier and reverse his stand against building a new stadium for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

The surprise move by Games organising boss Andrew Liveris ­to get behind the 60,000-seat ­stadium in inner-city Victoria Park reflects an emerging consensus among sports codes and ­business leaders for the multi­billion-dollar option.

This would replace the ageing Gabba ground and provide a permanent home for the AFL and ­big-time cricket in time for the Olympics, an increasingly tight proposition.

The Weekend Australian understands the Gabba’s anchor tenants – Queensland Cricket and AFL flagholders the Brisbane Lions, backed by their national codes – are finalising a detailed plan for the Victoria Park stadium to be submitted to the 100-day review into Olympic venues ordered by Mr Crisafulli.

While the recently elected LNP Premier has said he is against a new stadium, costed earlier this year at up to $3.4bn, supporters of the Victoria Park proposal were encouraged that the review would be able to interrogate the plan under its terms of reference.

Sources close to Mr Crisafulli have indicated he is prepared to have “all options” considered.

Australian Olympic Committee president Ian Chesterman said on Friday: “The key is to address what infrastructure is required for Brisbane and Queensland in the longer term, not just what is required for the Games.”

A view of the proposed Brisbane Stadium and New National Aquatic Centre at Victoria Park, in the Arcadis Victoria Park Strategic Plan for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games. Picture: Supplied

Mr Liveris’s intervention is significant given he is responsible for planning and delivering the event on budget as president of the Games organising committee, Brisbane2032. Until now, he has been careful not to take a public position on the politically vexed stadium issue.

On Thursday, Mr Liveris told The Courier-Mail that Victoria Park made “the most sense” of the options, which include a redeveloped Gabba. “I would love it, to be perfectly frank,” he said. “If a stadium like that appears at Victoria Park that fits the future of cricket and football perfectly and has private sector funding – like Optus Stadium out in Perth – of course Andrew Liveris would say, ‘wow, what a great answer for the Olympics’.”

Optus Stadium, regarded as the nation’s best, was built as a public-partnership under which the West Australian government kicked in 60 per cent of the upfront construction cost of $894m, according to former premier Colin Barnett.

The 100-day review, headed by businessman Stephen Conry in his capacity as chair of the newly appointed Games Independent Infrastructure and Co-ordination Authority, must prioritise the use of existing venues and infrastructure to deliver cost efficiency and sustainability, in line with Mr Crisafulli’s stated position on the stadium. However, the panel will still be permitted to assess new venues.

Mr Liveris’s pointed reference to the “chopping and changing” of venue plans between Queensland’s former Labor government and the LNP goes to the urgency of reaching a solution. Construction industry sources say an Olympic-sized stadium would generally take two years to plan and at least four more to build.