Olympic supremo John Coates dismisses 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games review chief’s claim

Olympics powerbroker John Coates dismissed any suggestion he ‘blindsided’ the Brisbane Games independent review chief Graham Quirk of venue options for 2032.

Olympic Boss John Coates in the AOC offices in Sydney. Picture: John Feder/The Australian.

Olympics supremo John Coates has slammed any suggestion he “blindsided” an independent review panel of venue options for Brisbane 2032.

Mr Coates told The Australian he was on the record proposing a renovation of the Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre well before the Olympic venue review commenced.

It follows claims by former Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk, who led the review into Games infrastructure, that he thought it “odd” that Mr Coates had mentioned the QSAC scheme only in passing – if at all – during a three-hour session with panel members about the venues.

Mr Coates bluntly refuted that was the first time he had floated that idea and told The Australian he was on the record stating that the 1982 Commonwealth Games stadium could be repurposed as the Games’ athletics hub - before Quirk was even appointed to lead the venue review.

“I didn’t blindside him - I was on the record before he was appointed saying that if it’s not the Gabba, it has to be one of those two sites that we identified,” Mr Coates said.

“The one that was obvious to me was the one at QSAC because it was 20 minutes away from the Hamilton Olympic Village. Then, the point I made repeatedly was that I thought it would cost someone like $4,5, 600 million - what Quirk then did is he came out and he and his committee did a job on that, by saying oh you need to put a podium in there because topography is enough to it, and all of those other things.”

The review was released Monday morning and recommended a $3.4 billion, 55,000-seat venue be built in Brisbane’s inner north at Victoria Park. The Quirk review costed the upgrade of QSAC at up to $1.6bn, concluding this did not provide value for money and was “hard to justify”.

The Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre where the Brisbane Olympics are set to hold the track and field events.

But Premier Steven Miles on Monday rejected the review finding and went with Mr Coates’ plan for QSAC over the panel’s recommendation that a new $3.4bn Olympic stadium be built on the CBD fringe at Victoria Park.

“Quirk also criticised the access to QSAC [in his review],” Mr Coates said. “But if people look at what [premier Steven] Miles came out and said. Miles said that we will now explore the basis of going to QSAC, and will explore improving the access there because we need to do it anyway for the people of South Brisbane.”

“Quirk needs to go and reflect on what I said before he was appointed. My proposal in that regard preceded his appointment. And there’s no question about that.”

On January 18 it was announced that Quirk would lead an independent review of Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic venue infrastructure. A press release said the review will focus on the new and upgraded venues to ensure they deliver value for money and community benefit right across Queensland and starts today.

Quirk and his panel say they did not realise the International Olympic Committee vice-president was serious about the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre until he came out in The Courier-Mail on February 8 calling for the 1982 Commonwealth Games stadium to be revamped for the Olympics.

“The panel was concerned when there was a public position stated by John Coates not long into our deliberations,” Mr Quirk told The Australian on Wednesday.

Mr Coates maintains he has been clear with Quirk and his panel in his belief.

“And when I met him I made it very clear that the basis upon which the Olympic candidature went forward and any candidacies had to be considered was that you had to use existing or planned venues, and so the planned venue was the Brisbane Arena,” Mr Coates said. “They moved the site off the railway lines but still into the Roma Street area, so you had to do that, but I didn’t blindside him.”