Olympics 2032: Businessman John Wagner urges council to budget for stadium after Toowoomba Sports Ground upgrade scrapped

One of Queensland’s most powerful businessman has urged the region to move quickly or risk missing out on its Olympic dream, after the scrapping of an $80m stadium upgrade.

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald; John Wagner.

One of the Darling Downs’ most powerful businessmen has called on the council to secure some of the tens of millions of Olympic funding now unattached to the now-dumped Toowoomba Sport Ground upgrade to put towards a new stadium.

John Wagner, whose companies are among Queensland’s largest and control the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport, said time was running out for the city to be part of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.

His comments come after the state government agreed with former Brisbane Lord Mayor Graham Quirk’s recommendation to scrap a planned $80m upgrade of the TSG, also called Clive Berghofer Stadium, to 15,000 seats for the Olympics.

The fallout from the report has placed the future of the Olympics in a precarious state, with Premier Steven Miles ignoring Mr Quirk’s suggestion to build a new Brisbane stadium at Victoria Park and instead upgrade QCAS at Nathan.

While the report spoke positively about the potential of events being held at a slated Equestrian Centre of Excellence (ECE) at the Toowoomba Showgrounds, no recommendations were attached to that idea.

John Wagner. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Deputy Premier Steven Miles visit the Wellcamp quarantine hub. Wednesday, February 16, 2022. Picture: Nev Madsen.

While Mr Wagner agreed with the decision to not upgrade the TSG, he said it was up to the Toowoomba Regional Council to act quickly, suggesting it include a new stadium in its upcoming budget and try to resecure some of the state and federal money now cut loose by the review.

He also argued there was a site close to town, but would not disclose where.

“My strong view is that the TSG should not have $80m spent on that, that would be a disgrace,” Mr Wagner said.

“There is no parking, it’s next door to residential areas, it doesn’t make one ounce of sense.

“What should happen is the council should make sure they get $80m to build a stadium on that site that they can turn into a sporting precinct — not at Charlton, there’s a site closer to town.

“They’ve got to make sure that $80m is preserved — put it in the budget and do something properly with it, (because) we’ll get nothing if we’re not careful.”

Mr Wagner supported the Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland’s plan for the ECE, calling it a “fantastic” proposal.

The businessman has floated building an animal quarantine facility near Wellcamp Airport to support the horseracing industry in the near future and potentially horses for the Olympic Games in 2032.

However, numerous hurdles will need to be cleared with the federal government, who have the authority to grant accreditation for quarantining.