Private push for $6bn Northshore Olympic precinct to save taxpayer amid stadium debacle

A Miles Government minister has all but shut down plans for an Olympic mega precinct with a stunning 60,000-seat waterfront stadium, revealing tenders had already been issued for the QSAC upgrades. TAKE OUR POLL

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Plans for a bold Olympic mega precinct with a stunning 60,000-seat waterfront stadium have been all but shut down by state government Minister Di Farmer.

The $6bn proposal has been put forward to solve the 2032 Games planning debacle – and it won’t cost taxpayers an extra cent.

A group of globally renowned architects – including the firm behind some of the best stadiums in the world such as Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys Stadium – have put forward the plan to transform Brisbane’s Northshore into a one-stop Olympic precinct.

But Ms Farmer said on Saturday the government wanted to own its Olympic stadium and had already issued tenders for QSAC upgrades and the Hamilton athletes village.

“We are already investing heavily in the Northshore area, we’ve already got dwellings there, we have already put out a proposal and tender for the athletes village,” she said.

“The government is always interested in private investment … but I think that the die has been set.

“We want to move forward.”

The proposed Northshore stadium would be the centrepiece of the precinct, which would include a hotel overlooking the venue, a 2500-apartment athletes’ village, pedestrian walkways along the river, an aquatic and wavepool centre as well as a retail and restaurant hub.

Images of a proposed Olympic precinct at Brisbane's Northshore.

The plan has been in the works for six months and talks undertaken with private enterprise, landowners and government departments – while the state government stubbornly continues to back a controversial $1.6bn QSAC upgrade at Mount Gravatt.

Dubbed the Brisbane Design Alliance, the team of world-class architecture, engineering and planning experts from Buchan, HKS, NRA Collaborative, Aurecon and Nikken Sekkei believes the project could be funded privately – similar to Perth’s Optus Stadium, which HKS designed.

The group only asks that the state government offer up the land required for the 150ha site between Bretts Wharf on Kingsford Smith Drive and Royal Queensland Golf Club, and help fix the transport problems plaguing the Northshore area.

The proposed design of an Olympic precinct at Brisbane’s Northshore.

Ms Farmer said the government had already steered toward its own investment in Northshore after promising to build 3000 social and affordable homes.

“There are quite concrete plans already,” she said.

“We’ve actually been very clear on what our vision is for the games, and on what facilities we think are the best to use.”

But asked to confirm whether QSAC would be used for the Games and opening or closing ceremonies, Ms Farmer said she wasn’t privy to programming or planning details.

“Or any details about any facilities,” she said.

Ms Farmer said tenders for early planning and design work on the QSAC stadium upgrade were released last week.

An expression of interest was only offered to select companies with registered relevant experience.

Northshore has been earmarked as one of four athletes village locations for 2032.

An $87m contract was awarded to BMD for 4km of road and civil works around the Northshore area two weeks ago.

But HKS Australia director Andrew Colling said the pitch was more than a first-class stadium for 2032, with, the design incorporating plans to include an extra 12,000 residential dwellings around the precinct after the Games.

“The need to solve the issues this city faces for the next 20-30 years is bigger than any one company so we pooled our experts together,” he said.

“Our Northshore scheme responds to projected population growth over the next 25 years, providing a mixed-use precinct unmatched in Queensland, located on the shores of our famous river and supported by a private finance model that will minimise cost to the state.

Designs by HKS architects, which show the stadium being used for cricket.

“A new, world-class stadium at Northshore can be purpose-built for cricket and Aussie rules while creating a unique Brisbane 2032 Olympics experience and venue to be proud of.

“You can’t have the opening ceremony drone shot over Mount Gravatt cemetery, it will look like the 1982 Commonwealth Games at QSAC.”

Other post-2032 additions would include a high-performance sports medicine centre, canals behind the retail hub and stadium, an elevated walkway or “highline” connecting the stadium precinct to Doomben Station and a bridge across the river to Bulimba.

The impressive AT & T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys.

The proposed stadium has been designed to allow spectators a view of the Brisbane City skyline as they watch events and, if desired, would become home to the Brisbane Lions and Cricket Queensland.

Design Alliance members have been involved in the Dallas Cowboys’ AT & T stadium, SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, Wembley Stadium in London and the Es Con Field Hokkaido stadium in Japan.

The project would be staged and shovels would need to hit the ground by early 2026 at the latest for Olympic and Paralympic works to be finished a year out from the Games.

The design would include riverfront pedestrian walkways. Artwork Supplied

The team of experts have met with developers, private landowners and engaged land valuers, Stadiums Queensland and any government agency willing to lend an ear. But for the plan to work, the government would need to redirect its $1.6bn QSAC spend towards public transport upgrades in and around Hamilton.

Mr Colling said transport was the only missing piece of the puzzle, with upgrades required for trains, buses, trams and ferry networks – something he thinks the government could afford, with private investors keen to pitch in and pay for the precinct.

The alliance is yet to cost land value for the 150ha site, as half was owned by the state.

“The $6bn includes transport upgrades but the private sector funding would do a lot of that heavy lifting,” Mr Colling said. “The state ideally supports us for the land … there’s a balancing act of how that comes together.

“There’s also some mechanisms in place of how they would take the land back in future, as I’m sure they will want that as value rises.”

The state government continues to back an upgrade of the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre at Mt Gravatt.

The Northshore precinct would also include public parkland and gardens to service the expected 22,000 residents post 2032.

A green pedestrian drawbridge has been proposed over the river linking the precinct to Bulimba, which the alliance says it is open to pursuing as a project prior to the Games if there’s an appetite.

“The transport solution will not be any one single quick fix,” Mr Colling said. “Rather than spend $1.6bn at QSAC, I’d rather them spend that across the transport network.

“We have 12-18 months to consolidate the land requirements … if we can get that sorted construction will go full steam ahead.

“The state should seriously consider this.”

Originally published as Private push for $6bn Northshore Olympic precinct to save taxpayer amid stadium debacle