Dundee 2.0: Croc fever takes over Brisbane Olympic Games launch

Four decades after Dundee put Australia on the map, croc fever has infested the Brisbane Olympic Games launch and become the hot topic of conversation across the globe.

FOUR decades after Crocodile Dundee took Australia to the world, it’s happening again.

Bizarre but true. Croc-mania, for better and worse, is spreading word of the Brisbane Olympics around the globe.

For all the intriguing threads of the 32 carefully-chosen Olympic venues announced at The Courier-Mail’s Future Brisbane launch, the most frequent line of table talk was “what about the crocodiles?’’

Just like Paul Hogan in 1980s classic Crocodile Dundee, croc-fever is dominating Games chat around the globe since this masthead revealed Rockhampton’s crocodile-inhabited Fitzroy River would host the rowing, making world rowing officials extremely nervous.

Brisbane Games boss Andrew Liveris offered the cautious if not quite comforting disclaimer “there are sharks in the ocean and we still do sailing’’ while champion para athlete Curtis McGrath said with suspiciously raised eyebrows “who knows what is in the water in Rockhampton?”

In a way the Croc chat had its own vivid message – welcome to the Olympics where the bizarre is big and the big can sometimes be mundane.

AI image of rowing at the croc infested Fitzroy River in Rockhampton.

Croc-fever aside, the venue plan looks solid, sensible and will send a deep-seated, long-lasting electric current through country regions who dream about getting top level sport but normally can never get it.

Cricket in Mackay. Good. Equestrian in Toowoomba. Yes. Archery in Maryborough. Where else?

The venue map does not take the breath away in an Arc de Triomphe sort of way but there was no point Brisbane trying to pretend Stefan’s Sky Needle is our Eiffel Tower.

If this plan fails Queensland is not the state we think it is.

Queensland will showcase what Queensland has ... the sun, sand and natural warmth at the beach volleyball and the triathlon on the Gold Coast, the sailing in the Whitsunday’s.

The shots beamed around the world may not have the hit-you-between the eyes historical gravitas of Paris but will be soothing, inviting and inspirational.

The men with the most conspicuous cat got the cream smiles at the launch were Terry Svenson (Queensland Cricket) and Greg Swann (Brisbane Lions) as they saw a 63,000 seat arena approved that will be biggest than the Broncos home base at Suncorp Stadium which has gone from hosting the opening and closing ceremonies to diddly squat.

AI image of 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games venues: Victoria Park stadium.

The end of the Gabba in 2032 will be a nostalgic moment but it has become the No 5 Test cricket ground in Australia and as modern as those old mobile phones which looked like walky-takies.

Premier David Crisafulli spread the love far and wide from the richly rewarded Gold Coast to the far north in a plot which should pull votes in a wide variety of electorates but – crucially – will make it an expensive exercise.

That is an issue particularly when we remember Victoria tried going regional with the Commonwealth Games and had to pull out because the cost blew the lid of the saucepan.

The best statistic of all was that the new Aquatic Centre at Victoria Park has a 25,000 capacity – 8000 more than Paris – a great move because swimming will an absolute star of the Games. They could sell it out three times over every night.

An artist impression of the National Aquatics Centre proposed for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. Picture: Archipelago Architects.

But the swimming is a controversial one because the (very fair) question will be asked “if Queensland swimming were dominating the world without a legacy venue why do they need one?’’

The fact that private enterprise will be allowed to play a role is a sensible move to take pressure off taxpayers because, in the immortal words of former Sydney boss Rod McGeoch “honestly, does any spectator going to a venue give a stuff who owns the stadium?’’

It was day of big plans and big dreams, an emotions stirred to the point where recently retired Olympian Cate Campbell, sitting quietly at her table “did the maths to see whether I could make a comeback.’’

Cate would be 40 in 2032 but don’t write it off.

What is a home Olympics without a dream?

THE VANISHING OLYMPIC SPORT

Just when the government thought they ticked every box, up pops the sport that somehow vanished.

Gymnastics officials were furious when they read the 36-page government report into the Games venues and realised they had received not one mention.

It immediately left the Chandler-based sport calling for an urgent meeting with Premier David Crisafulli to “clarify” the Chandler Sport Precinct’s $257m Olympic makeover and the sport’s future in Queensland. Other Candler based sports such as swimming were mentioned but gymnastics was not.

Jesse Moore represented Australia in gymnastics at the Paris Olympics, but the sport was nowhere to be seen in the 36-page government report into the 2032 Games venues. Picture: Getty Images

Gymnastics Gymnastics Queensland chief executive Chris Rushton feared his sport had been “snubbed’’ in the government’s 100-day review and it was in “limbo’’ over its future.

“Gymnastics was not mentioned in today’s announcement, despite a number of conversations with government and a detailed proposal being developed for the Chandler Indoor Sports Centre,” said Rushton.

“Our future needs to be addressed, because Gymnastics Queensland is located at the outdated Sleeman Sports Complex which hosts the national trampoline program and grassroots clubs.

“We were told Chandler would be a game-changer – but now after more than 1300 days, unfortunately everything is up in the air and that’s so disappointing not only to the local community, but our clubs and athletes throughout the state,” Rushton said.

Brisbane was dubbed the Aldi Olympics for fear they would be cut price. They certainly are not that. Nor are the Harrods Games. They are somewhere in the middle which is where they should be.

The challenge for the government will be staying within the budget. Most of the questions at the post announcement press conference were about a full disclosure of the finances.