Brisbane’s Olympic vision: Blank canvas to transform Victoria Park

The world’s best architects will be given a blank canvas to create an Olympic Games precinct in Brisbane to rival those that transformed Sydney and London.

A previous artist impression of Brisbane Stadium in Victoria Park for Brisbane 2032 Olympics. Source: Queensland Government.

The world’s best architects will be given a blank canvas to create an Olympic Games precinct in Brisbane to rival those that transformed Sydney and London.

Architects and developers have been encouraged to flex their visionary muscle and come up with world-leading ideas in the creation of the Victoria Park Precinct Master Plan.

The Olympic precinct will cover the 63,000-seat main stadium and 25,000-seat National Aquatic Centre at Victoria Park and nearby RNA Stadium and athletes’ village at Brisbane Showgrounds.

The master plan will identify connectivity and public infrastructure opportunities and is being hailed as the first step towards transforming Victoria Park into the centrepiece of Brisbane’s Olympic Games.

Previous artist impressions of the Victoria Park precinct. Pictured Supplied by ARCHIPELAGOCHIPELAGO

Wednesday marks seven years until the opening ceremony of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.

It is the same time Sydney had to prepare for the 2000 Games.

The Queensland Government – to commemorate the milestone seven-year countdown – has launched an expression of interest program for the creation of the master plan for the Victoria Park and nearby Brisbane Showgrounds precinct.

Proponents have been told to create a world-class hub for recreation, events, entertainment, and lifestyle that will also leave a lasting legacy beyond the Games.

The state government is not indicating what should be included in the master plan, but instead leaving it to the imagination of the private sector.

It is expected, however, the precinct master plan will include parklands, public infrastructure and pedestrian links between the $3.8bn main stadium at Victoria Park, National Aquatic Centre, RNA Stadium and athletes’ village.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for industry leaders to help deliver Queensland’s largest infrastructure legacy,” Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie said.

“Today, as we mark seven years to go until the Games, we are getting on with delivery and putting Queensland’s legacy at the centre of our generational infrastructure investment,” he said.

Deputy Premier, Minister for State Development, Infrastructure and Planning and Minister for Industrial Relations Jarrod Bleijie. Picture: John Gass

“With the precinct to include Brisbane Stadium in Victoria Park, the National Aquatic Centre in Spring Hill and the Brisbane Athlete Village in Brisbane Showgrounds, it will become a key part of Queensland’s Games legacy.”

Victoria Park is expected to replicate Sydney’s Olympic Park and London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – both which feature multiple national stadiums and parklands. M

Archipelago founding director Peter Edwards said Victoria Park needed to rise to the “challenge of a city doubling in size”.

He argued it could become a world class open space underpinned by subtropical botanic gardens mirroring Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands.

“We haven’t had a single piece of inner urban open space that works like tourism infrastructure since Expo 88 gave us South Bank,” Mr Edwards said.

He argued high density housing should be built on the periphery of Victoria Park, the Inner City Bypass built over to offset parkland lost from the stadiums and a focus on knowledge.

“In Victoria Park we can deliver a world-class knowledge corridor connecting QUT, UQ and the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital – one of the southern hemisphere’s most significant sports health and science centres,” he said.

Expressions of interest for the master plan close on August 1 ahead of a tender process for short-listed proponents.

Originally published as Brisbane’s Olympic vision: Blank canvas to transform Victoria Park