Toowoomba’s equestrian Olympic dream in focus ahead of Future Brisbane event

The Garden City finds out on Tuesday if it will secure millions in Olympic funding for its vaunted $54m Toowoomba Equestrian Centre, fulfilling a dream that has been in the works for years. Here’s what is at stake:

Toowoomba is on the cusp of a multimillion-dollar windfall if the city can lock in equestrian events at the showgrounds for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, as the clock winds down on the final decision.

Queensland Premier David Crisafulli. Picture David Clark

The Garden City finds out on Tuesday if it will secure millions in Olympic funding for its vaunted $54m Toowoomba Equestrian Centre, fulfilling a dream that has been in the works for years.

It is understood Toowoomba will have the leading edge to snap up all equestrian events when Premier David Crisafulli announces the final slate of Olympic venues at The Courier-Mail’s Future Brisbane event today.

The world-class venue, to be owned and operated by the Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland, would feature the construction of more than 120 new stables, formalised parking and camping, replacement indoor arena surfaces, lighting, a four-star cross-country course, new indoor arena and campdrafting facilities.

Toowoomba mayor Geoff McDonald, who will be in the room at Future Brisbane, said the region’s unified campaign to vie for Olympic involvement had given it every chance at success.

“I feel very pleased about the process we’ve gone about as a community to advocate as a solution for the equestrian events at the Olympics and I applaud the show society and all parties to get us to the point where we are a genuine contender,” he said.

“There’s no doubt that when multiple stakeholders work together, great things can be achieved — we go in knowing we haven’t left any stone unturned.”

PROPOSED: A new plan has been put forward by Equestrian Queensland and the Royal Agricultural Society Queensland to turn the Toowoomba Showgrounds into an equine centre of excellence.

The RASQ says it plans to go ahead with a non-Olympic version of the TEC over the coming years even if Toowoomba is not successful on Tuesday, with the view of meeting a significant shortfall in suitable arenas in Queensland for national and international equestrian events.

Along with the local subcontractors who would likely secure work with the construction, Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise’s Mark Mason believes the Olympics itself would inject more than $12m into the local economy.

“We believe we’ve got significant local capacity to deliver this project, which will free up resources for the southeast Queensland infrastructure projects,” he said.

“It will also bring an economic windfall to our region, not just during construction but also in operation before, during and after the games.

“It fits in with the new norms of the International Olympic Committee, that the infrastructure built has long-term community benefits.”

Mr Mason said the TEC’s inclusion in Brisbane 2032 could also be catalytic to securing other badly-needed non-sporting infrastructure for Toowoomba.

Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise’s Olympic strategy and legacy project manager Mark Mason on the panel at the Toowoomba Equestrian Centre breakfast in the Glenvale Room, Toowoomba Showgrounds, Tuesday, February 25, 2025. Picture: Kevin Farmer

“It will enable us to pursue further investment, like hotels and accommodation, so there are certainly several economic flow-ons and our ability to drive those would be improved.

“We want this investment regardless of the games, but what it does is it gives us another tool in our arsenal to secure inbound investment into the region.”

TSBE chief executive and RASQ board member John McVeigh said a successful bid would be the culmination of more than six years of work by various bodies and community leaders.

“It was probably five years ago when RASQ sat down with a planning exercise and we looked at priorities and equestrian kept coming out on top as a key focus — we decided then we were going to developed the TEC as a world-class centre,” he said.

“It would have to be 2019, 2020 or so that Paul Antonio (former mayor) talked to me around the opportunity to develop a far better rapid passenger transport system for southeast Queensland, so the Council of Mayors Southeast Queensland jumped on the Olympics as an opportunity to develop infrastructure.

“That was at the same time that RASQ was working on equestrian, and also when Mark Mason was seconded to TSBE from the council to look at Olympic opportunities for our region.”

Mr McVeigh said Toowoomba needed to use the Olympics as a chance to shake up the city’s vital infrastructure, particularly around public transport.

“It simply has to – to gear up for a major investment at the Toowoomba Showgrounds, you’ve got to look at the transport and infrastructure around it,” he said.

“I personally see a great need of investment in upgrades in terms of access to the showgrounds but also Toowoomba.

“When will Toowoomba get the next chance to attract infrastructure funding than Olympics 2032? Let’s get it done.”