Brisbane Olympics: New details on Toowoomba stadium revealed by Minister Stirling Hinchliffe as YouFor2032 athlete search begins

Toowoomba’s upgraded stadium could contain temporary seating at the Olympic Games, as new details were revealed by the minister. This week also saw the start of a massive statewide athlete search, which will in this region.

Glennie School student Jessica Rowe performs a sprint, a demonstration of the trials Toowoomba juniors will go through as part of the Queensland Government's Youfor2032 athlete search, ahead of the Brisbane Olympic Games.

Thousands of Toowoomba teenagers like The Glennie School’s Jessica Rowe will soon get the chance to showcase their Olympic potential in Australia’s biggest sporting talent search in decades.

The first “combine” for the Queensland Academy of Sport’s YouFor2032 athlete search will be held at Clive Berghofer Stadium next month, with 20,000 Queensland teens to be tested across several disciplines over six months.

About 400 athletes will be picked to join the QAS’s high performance pathway, as the state aims to bolster its output in a decade’s time.

It comes as the Toowoomba Regional Council explores its Olympic options to ensure the region earns a fair share of the windfall from the games.

Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe, who met with Mayor Paul Antonio several weeks ago, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to upgrading Clive Berghofer Stadium to host preliminary soccer events.

However, he remained tight-lipped on the delivery timeline, noting some temporary seating may be used during the games.

“The stadium has been identified as one of the venues for Olympic competition, to be one of the preliminary venues for football,” he said.

“I’ve spoken recently with Mayor Antonio about how this is part of the important aspiration of the region.

“Not only (will this) deliver for the 2032 experience, with probably some significant temporary seating to flex the capacity, but also getting the infrastructure right that we do that will provide support for events like the Clydesdales coming back into the Queensland Cup.”

Head to qld.gov.au/youfor2032 to register.