More than $7 billion could be saved by staging Olympic events on the Gold Coast

The 2032 Olympic Games began as a gold medal opportunity for the Gold Coast. We had all the venues — we are to get a lot of the visitors. Why are we looking at bronze or worse?

The 2032 Olympic Games began as a gold medal opportunity for the Gold Coast. We had all the venues – we are to get a lot of the visitors. Why are we looking at bronze or worse?

A City leader told the Bulletin’s future sports private briefing: “It’s been difficult. Initially the business case was prepared by the Council of Mayors for a regional games.

“It was not Brisbane, it was a regional games and the reason behind the bid was to primarily develop a transport network for southeast Queensland.”

This translates, as a legacy, to connecting Stage 4 light rail to the Gold Coast Airport and upgrading heavy rail on the Sunshine Coast.

Flashback March 2023 and happy faces — Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee board members, on a bus tour ,are shown some venues by Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate. Pic: Lyndon Mechielsen/Brisbane 2032.

Our city did not contribute to the business case being prepared by the Council of Mayors.

“We were not willing to put our money there at the time because we were focusing totally on 2018 (Commonwealth Games),” the City leader says.

“So that remained the focus when the Council of Mayors – they were successful (with the bid) – and from the moment Brisbane took carriage of it and it ceased being the SEQ games and became the Brisbane Games,” the leader says.

The Coast was left off the organising committee and missed out on major events – the hockey despite having world class fields at Labrador, the golf with PGA standard courses at Royal Pines and Sanctuary Cove and the marathon. Can anyone explain the last one?

Mayor Tom Tate had signed on after being told by Olympic organisers of the “New Norm” – using regional facilities, saving $7 billion which could be used for transport infrastructure.

He was also told that if the Coast didn’t sign up it would “send the place broke”.

Flashback 2018 — temporary stand at Carrrar. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins).

His view and others at the City was the Coast, in physical legacies, gets the tram extension, an added northern stand at Carrara Stadium and roof on the Southport aquatic centre.

Those savings remain possible. CEO Tim Baker investigated and found it would cost $2.5 billion less to use the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre than build the Brisbane Live Venue.

Similarly, $2.7 billion saved by using the Gold Coast Sports Precinct including Heritage Bank Stadium, Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre and the grounds.

The hockey would cut costs by $2 million and another $238 million if the new Indoor Arena was built and utilised.

“The Gold Coast loved the Norm. Now where’s Norm gone, he’s no longer in the Olympics and that’s wrong,” the Mayor says.

Artist impression of a proposed upgrade of the Gold Coast Aquatic Centre in Southport.

Stadium sources suggest the venues and their sports remain “in play” and will be until a final decision next year.

The real story here is the Coast never faced a financial risk for ratepayers. We had the facilities due to hosting the Commonwealth Games.

But a Brisbane business leader recently told your columnist: “The Gold Coast has to understand — we are not going to let go of these events.”

The big risk here is our tourism reputation. The New Norm could be continuing traffic chaos.

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Originally published as More than $7 billion could be saved by staging Olympic events on the Gold Coast