Editorial: New Brisbane Arena needed, but how and where?

Follow the new Cross River Rail line south from the original site of Brisbane Arena and a great new location emerges, writes the editor.

A Brisbane Arena concept (left) opposite a redeveloped Gabba

Today’s revelation that a proposed new inner-city entertainment arena in the Normanby Fiveways corner of the Roma Street Parkland was most recently costed at more than the federal government had set aside to build it should sound the death knell for that proposal.

It was always a next-best option to what remains the best site for the much-needed inner-city arena – the area immediately surrounding the Roma St railway station that will become the new Central in terms of the rail lines it will service.

But that site is more expensive again, because of the complexities of building it over what will be a massive underground rail station being delivered as a key part of the Cross River Rail project.

But follow that Cross River Rail line south to Woolloongabba and another great location emerges: the old GoPrint site bound by Main, Vulture and Stanley streets. This site is currently being used as the primary construction site for Cross River Rail. The site was to have been developed after that as a plaza with apartments and bars and restaurants that would also serve as a link between the rebuilt Gabba stadium across the road and the massive new Cross River Rail underground station that has been specifically designed to move tens of thousands of people every hour.

But the Gabba is now unlikely to be rebuilt, with the government understood to be eyeing off Victoria Park on the other side of the central business district for a new stadium. That means Brisbane is at risk of having built one of the world’s best underground rail stations servicing only a normal inner-suburb post-2032 when the Gabba is torn down. It would be a monumental waste.

The site should therefore be the location of the inner-city arena that Brisbane needs to replace the four-decade old Brisbane Entertainment Centre, an 18km drive from the city.

Premier David Crisafulli’s 100-day independent review of Games venues has not been released; it will be on Tuesday, when the Premier unveils his masterplan for venues.

The Woolloongabba Cross River Rail station is under construction at the site. Picture: Patrick Woods

But that review is understood to have recommended the GoPrint site for the arena, which the federal government has set aside $2.5bn for – $100m less than we now know the second-best Roma St site would cost to build on.

The GoPrint site is a construction site. It is flat, and it is big. These facts alone mean it should be cheaper to build on than either of the two Roma St options.

It would also mean that the city’s new entertainment centre would be serviced by a massive underground rail station literally next door to it that is on the main Gold Coast line, and that is one stop to Albert St – smack bang in what will be the new centre of the Brisbane CBD.

Further, the Gabba will still be standing in 2032, so it could host the key matches at the Olympic cricket tournament – another benefit.

The Premier and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese should today both back Woolloongabba as the location for the arena. How it will be paid for is then the next challenge, with the Prime Minister wanting to deliver it as a publicly funded asset that he can spruik in the upcoming election campaign in the inner-city Greens-held seats of Brisbane and Griffith. The Premier is instead asking that the $2.5bn of federal funding allocated for it be spent on other venues – with the private sector then tapped to deliver the arena, perhaps via a gift of all that public land at Woolloongabba.

The first option gives certainty for this seriously-needed piece of legacy infrastructure; the second option would see even more legacy infrastructure delivered, such as the proposed National Aquatic Centre at Spring Hill – but with some risk to the arena project, as it would rely on a deal being struck with a private operator. This would take time.

How this plays out is a huge piece of the venues puzzle, and one that is unlikely to be resolved before the Premier unveils his masterplan on stage tomorrow lunchtime at The Courier-Mail’s Future Brisbane event that will be livestreamed on our website. We suggest popcorn.

GET BACK TO THE OFFICE

It is incredible that a work practice that barely existed just five years ago is now seen as a God-given right by many employees, and has even become an election issue.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has backed his shadow finance and public service minister, Jane Hume, who has called for all federal public servants to return to the office five days a week.

Yesterday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called Mr Dutton out of touch, and spoke about the advantages of the home office.

In particular he pointed to people in outer suburban and regional areas overcoming the tyranny of distance by working at least one day a week from home.

The fact that most of these people worked the full five days in the office before the initial Covid-19 lockdown in 2020 shows that tyranny can be subjective.

This is hardly some Elon Musk-type plan from the Opposition.

It is a sensible policy that ensures taxpayers get the best bang for their buck and public service productivity is given top priority.

Working from home isn’t a right. It was a privilege.

Responsibility for election comment is taken by Chris Jones, corner of Mayne Rd & Campbell St, Bowen Hills, Qld 4006. Printed and published by NEWSQUEENSLAND (ACN 009 661 778). Contact details here

Originally published as Editorial: New Brisbane Arena needed, but how and where?