Harrup Park, Great Barrier Reef Arena CEO Adrian Young speaks as Mackay confirmed hosts for 2032 Olympic Games events

The announcement that Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena will host cricket at the 2032 Olympic Games is but a catalyst for a more wide-reaching legacy according to the venue’s CEO. Find out what he had to say.

Mackay’s Great Barrier Reef Arena. Picture: Supplied

Harrup Park and Great Barrier Reef Arena CEO Adrian Young has said it’s “fantastic news” that Mackay will play host to cricket at the 2032 Olympic Games, but said the job is far from over for his organisation.

“To hear the premier (David Crisafulli) say Mackay will play a role at the 2032 games is great for us,” Young said.

“Obviously the sports that will be in the Olympics in 2032 haven’t been confirmed yet, but with it being played in Los Angeles in 2028, one would expect they’d also have it when the event comes to Australia.

“We received $23.5 million in funding for our Stage 2 upgrades to the facilities at Harrup Park from the Crisafulli government, which clearly demonstrates they believe the venue can play an important role in 2032 and beyond.

“It’s a much bigger plan than $23.5 million, and we need the support of the federal government to ensure it can deliver what we’re trying to achieve.”

Mackay Regional Council 2032 Olympics Planning Summit. Harrup Park Country Club general manager Adrian Young. Picture: Max O'Driscoll.

While Aussie rules and cricket in particular are forefront of mind for many people when it comes to this project, Young said the implications reach far beyond just those two sports.

“The way we’ve developed this project is for it to produce results for athletes in a wide range of sports across the whole region,” he said.

“We’ve identified the needs of other sports and athletes, both able-bodied and disabled, who require some additional support and uplift.

“We want to create a facility that is among the best in Australia and caters toward sports both in the Olympics and those that are in the grassroots of our community that get forgotten about.”

Nathan McSweeney leaves the field after scoring the match winning runs during day four of the match between Australia A and India A at Great Barrier Reef Arena. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)

One of the key messages that Young sent was that the stage 2 upgrades would allow Mackay to keep local athletes local, rather than them having to move to Brisbane or even Townsville to access the facilities they need to maximise their potential.

“Those athletes are often lost forever to our region, and that’s not what we want, we want our athletes wherever possible to stay with us and to do that we need the facilities to compete with other regions in Australia,” he said.

‘The Olympics is a catalyst, but for us it's about the future well beyond the 2032 games.”

Originally published as Harrup Park, Great Barrier Reef Arena CEO Adrian Young speaks as Mackay confirmed hosts for 2032 Olympic Games events