Queensland Opposition Leader rules out $1.6bn Olympic stadium rebuild

David Crisafulli says a government he leads won’t sink taxpayer money into a ‘horrendous plan’ to rebuild a 50-year-old stadium.

Queensland Opposition Leader David Crisafulli, inset, and the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre.

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Queensland election favourite David Crisafulli will rip up Brisbane’s Olympic venue blueprint if he wins next month’s state poll, declaring Labor’s plan to revamp a near 50-year-old suburban stadium as the main athletics hub was “horrendous”.

The Liberal National Party leader, who successive public polls suggest will win majority government at the October 26 election, said Australia’s third Olympics was at risk of becoming an “embarrassment” after years of shambolic planning, but has refused to commit to an alternative stadium proposal.

Premier Steven Miles in March dumped plans to rebuild the Gabba for the Brisbane 2032 Games, instead pledging up to $1.6bn to upgrade the ageing Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre, previously known as QEII stadium.

Built for the 1982 Commonwealth Games, QSAC is nearly 3km from a train station and would seat only 40,000 people.

Mr Crisafulli had previously hinted that an LNP government would drop QSAC as a stadium option, but on Wednesday shut down the proposal altogether, saying its prospects were “zilch”.

“I don’t think there is any scenario where any Queenslander looks at that plan and doesn’t see anything but cringe-worthiness from a desperate government,” he said. “You can ask it a million ways, there is no one who believes that project is either value for money or provides a legacy option.”

If he prevails at the election, Mr Crisafulli will ask the Games infrastructure delivery agency to devise a new venue plan within the LNP government’s first 100 days in office. Under his proposed terms of reference, the authority would have to prioritise road and rail infrastructure, use existing venues, not exceed the current $7bn funding envelope and present legacy opportunities for the entire state.

“Whilst I look forward to the results of the 100-day review, if a project like (QSAC) came out the other end at a time when Queenslanders are yearning to be proud of their government and their state on the world stage then I would be stunned, I would be stunned,” he said. “You know as well as I do what has been proposed there, by anyone’s measure, is neither visionary nor cost effective.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles. Picture: Lyndon Mechielsen / Courier Mail

“The idea of spending well north of a billion dollars on temporary facilities for something in the middle of the bush, it doesn’t make sense in anyone’s language.”

The main Olympic stadium must be in Brisbane, Mr Crisafulli declared, but refused to say if there were any other options aside from QSAC, the Gabba or a new stadium build.

Accusing Mr Crisafulli of “hiding behind a 100-day Games review”, State Development Minister Grace Grace said the LNP had to be transparent with voters about their Olympic venue plan.

A business case for QSAC, initiated by the Labor government, is still under way and due to be completed in mid-2025.

Brisbane 2032 president Andrew Liveris said the organising committee did not have a position on QSAC and was waiting for the project validation report, or business case, to be delivered.

But Mr Liveris did warn of the need to have a “right-sized” stadium for the Olympics, praising Paris’s 80,000-seat Stade de France which hosted the athletics and Rugby 7s. He said he hoped the decision about the athletics stadium location would be locked in next year, while the Brisbane Arena – which will host swimming in a drop-in pool – was “pretty much done”.

“We have 2865 days to get this right … and you can bet your life that not only is it enough time, Paris was still deciding on venues 600 days out,” he said.

“Los Angeles still hasn’t finalised many of their venues for many of their sports. So please don’t panic, we’ve got this.”

The Olympics boss was also asked about the future of cricket and AFL in Brisbane, amid uncertainty over the future of the Queensland home for those sports, the Gabba.

Mr Liveris said he had met with the governing bodies for cricket and AFL on Wednesday, and had encouraged them to think about their future and their own decision about a stadium.

He said he hoped cricket would be an Olympic sport in Brisbane.

“I am very keen to find a way to actually see how that can work if you didn’t have a decent stadium, OK for legacy reasons, where are we going to put the cricket on?”

He said some regional or interstate venues might have to be considered but “we have to see what ends up happening”.

The Australian understands the Queensland government hopes to have about half of the 15 minor venue procurement and construction contracts out to market by the end of the year.

An independent review of options for Brisbane 2032, ordered by Mr Miles and led by former lord mayor Graham Quirk, in March found revamping QSAC would be a waste of money.

On Mr Quirk’s numbers, $600m would be spent building 14,000 permanent seats at QSAC and a further $1bn to increase ­capacity to 40,000 with ­related infrastructure.

The proposal to upgrade QSAC was first put forward by Olympic powerbroker John Coates in February. Mr Coates, a director on the Brisbane organising committee, has said that independent analysis given to the International Olympic Committee of the cost of a refurbishment and upgrade at QSAC came in at about $600m and would allow for temporary seating to stretch capacity to 40,000 spectators.