Opinion: Brisbane needs Olympic swimming to secure legacy arena

The Gold Coast wants to be like Brisbane for the 2032 Games, but there’s a reason swimming needs to stay in the capital, writes Adrian Schrinner.

A concept of Brisbane Arena at Roma Street Parkland

I have been reading in The Courier-Mail that the Gold Coast would like to host the swimming for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.

This is obviously part of Mayor Tom Tate’s advocacy of his city, and this is understandable.

But firstly, I want to congratulate Tom, because he was a sceptic to start with and never signed his city up to the original deal and relied on the other councils to put money in to go after the Games.

But he’s well and truly on board now, and he can see the opportunities – and good luck to him because in the end, we all have a job advocating for the city that we represent, and so we will forgive him for being an early sceptic and encourage him to keep up advocating for his city.

I know that the Gold Coast wants to be like Brisbane. I know they want a bit of the shine and the gold dust from this Olympic opportunity. And that’s good, but it is important we’re aware of what is being proposed here.

The swimming is already proposed to be held in a venue called the Brisbane Arena.

The Brisbane Arena is a mid-sized indoor stadium where a temporary pool will be constructed.

More permanently, think of it as a replacement for the Boondall Entertainment Centre – but in an inner-city location.

Yes it will serve as a swimming venue for the Olympics and Paralympics, but more importantly it will an ongoing entertainment centre for the people of Brisbane.

And so if the swimming goes to the Gold Coast, that could mean the loss of the Brisbane Arena as a legacy asset for the people of Brisbane and South East Queensland.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner

People come from all over South East Queensland to attend concerts at Boondall, and the past few nights have been a reminder of exactly why we need a world-class inner-city entertainment centre to replace it.

Boondall has had its day, and in fact, the discussions on replacing it have been going on now for around 15 years.

It was back in 2010 that people started talking about the need to replace Boondall. It wasn’t fit for purpose. It wasn’t even then representative of what our world-class city deserves, and it is not the right venue to attract the economic outcome that we would desire as a legacy from the Games.

There’s a lot of talk about legacy, and it’s always been accepted that Brisbane Arena will be one of those legacy assets – not built for the Games, but built in time for the Games, funded by the federal government. We thank them.

If we don’t have the swimming in Brisbane, we won’t have the Brisbane Arena, and that would mean Boondall would be our long-term solution for entertainment in that mid-size range.

Does anyone think that’s a good outcome from a legacy point of view? Everyone agrees that Boondall needs to be replaced, and the ideal location is in a city location.

The reason for that is great public transport access. The other reason is that it enhances the economic benefit of the venue.

Think about all those people that went to see the Drake concert on Monday night. They were waiting outside locked gates for hours and hours.

Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate

Did they have local bars and restaurants to go to? Were there things to do before and after? No, they were sitting in the car park in Boondall locked out. They had to take a wee in the bushes.

To have an inner-city venue means that people can do things before and after the event. It generates jobs. It generates economic activity. People can have a meal or a drink before and after the event, and the transport is good.

As Lord Mayor of Brisbane I will fight tooth and nail to make sure that the swimming does happen in Brisbane, and that we do get a good legacy.

I think it’s worth quoting the words of Anika Wells – the Federal Minister for Sport, who is also the MP who represents Boondall. She has said: “As the steward of Boondall I say, sadly, we do need a better fit for purpose in the city – a world-class venue.”

She is right. We all have some emotional attachment to Boondall, but we know we need to do better.

There has been lots of debate about the stadium, and people have different views on that, but until now there has been no debate on whether we need a new arena. That’s because everyone has agreed – all sides of politics.

And so let’s not miss this opportunity to deliver a lasting legacy so that Drake fans – and fans of whoever else is performing – can attend an inner-city venue where they can have an experience before and after the show and support local business, and not be stuck in a car park with no toilet facilities waiting for a show to start.

That’s not world-class. Brisbane should aspire to more than that.

This is an edited speech delivered in Brisbane City Council on Tuesday

Originally published as Opinion: Brisbane needs Olympic swimming to secure legacy arena