Coalition government promises $5m for Riverway Stadium broadcast lights, if elected

A $5m election promise has been labelled as ‘desperate’ with one of the top contenders for the seat of Herbert lambasting the elected member.

A $5M election promise has been labelled as “desperate” with one of the top contenders for the seat of Herbert lambasting the elected member.

Labor’s John Ring says Herbert MP Phillip Thompson’s commitment to fund broadcast-quality lighting at Riverway Stadium will never eventuate as the MP cannot work in unison with state and local governments.

On Saturday, Mr Thompson announced funding for the project, which the Townsville Bulletin had campaigned for over many years.

Without broadcast-quality lighting the Townsville venue has been passed over for multiple national and international sporting events in favour for Cairns and Mackay.

“He’s only announced … the partial funding for Riverway lighting, so he would need to work with the local government and the state government to deliver this,” Mr Ring said.

“I don’t believe he will be able to do that because he’s not shown over the past three years that he will work with anyone.

“I think he is just desperate because he knows he is in trouble.

“People are sick of Scott Morrison’s man in Townsville, Phil Thompson, they want change.

“It is something I will support, and will be fighting for, but I think there is a better chance that I could deliver that than the current federal member.”

Labor candidate for Herbert John Ring. Picture: Evan Morgan

Mayor Jenny Hill said people needed to be wary of promises made “by someone who very well could be out of government and unable to deliver”.

Current polling shows Mr Thompson is tipped to win Herbert, but it is likely he will be in opposition.

“What North Queensland, what Townsville now needs to understand a week out, is who is actually going to be in government in Canberra,” Cr Hill said.

“At the moment it doesn’t need Herbert or Dawson to decide that, so we need to know whether or not we’re going to have a member in who could be in government or have a member screaming and whining from the back benches, that’s really now the choice for North Queenslanders.”

Townsville City Council owns the Riverway precinct – including the stadium.

“There is still a $3m shortfall,” Cr Hill said.

However, Queensland Cricket is understood to have costed the project at $6m.

The Mayor said the council was undertaking budget discussions and that shortfall would need to come from somewhere.

“It is all very well coming out and saying it, but it’s not being done in consultation with the council.

“The second problem is there is an operational cost to these things, which is why there has been a general resistance to putting the lights off until we have a guarantee of content.

“It is expected the lights will cost about $700,000 a year to run, so are we expecting the ratepayers then to foot that bill?”

$5m promise to light up Riverway

RIVERWAY could be lit up in broadcast-quality lights if a Coalition government is re-elected, with the party promising up to $5m for the project.

The commitment comes after years of campaigning from the community, sporting personalities and the Townsville Bulletin to help put the city on the AFL and cricket world stage.

Townsville has been passed over multiple times for professional sporting events because games could never be broadcast at night, with events heading to Mackay or Cairns.

Herbert MP Phillip Thompson said the project had been used as a political football for years – including by himself – but locals had consistently raised it as something that should be done to boost local sport and the economy.

“Townsville has one of Australia’s best sporting facilities in Riverway Stadium, and this is the investment it needs to really get the national attention it deserves,” Mr Thompson said.

“I’ve listened to the community, I’ve listened to local sporting clubs, and they’ve said very clearly that getting national broadcast cricket and AFL is something they want and our city needs.

Phillip Thompson with AFL Townsville Competition Manager Dan Watts. Picture: Supplied

“We’ve been missing out on millions of dollars that could’ve been injected into our local economy for too long, through losing these kinds of AFL and cricket games to Cairns and Mackay.

“Just two weeks ago Cairns hosted an AFL Premiership fixture and earlier this year, the AFLW was played in Mackay.

“Meanwhile the cricket will be looking for alternate venues with the Gabba out of action for redevelopment ahead of the 2032 Olympics.”

The proposal to upgrade lighting at Riverway has been identified by Cricket Australia, Queensland Cricket and AFL Queensland as priorities for the regional growth of their games.

Previously, Townsville City Council has said there has not been enough content available to justify ratepayers wearing the full cost of the lighting upgrade.

Queensland Cricket and Brisbane CEO Terry Svenson said the estimated cost of the project is $6m.

“Broadcast quality lighting would enable Cricket Australia and Queensland Cricket to play elite cricket at the venue,” he said.

Dean Kent of the Saints celebrates scoring a goal during the Round 13 AFL match between the Gold Coast Suns and the St Kilda Saints at Riverway Stadium in Townsville, Saturday, June 15, 2019. (AAP Image/Dan Peled)

“This would be a huge boost to not just the local game but our national and international competitions, and we can’t wait to bring more blockbuster games to Townsville.

“We’ve successfully staged Sheffield Shield and One Day matches in recent seasons and received excellent local support from everyone involved to do this.

“We recognise that kids seeing their heroes inspires a lifelong love of the game and provides us with the opportunity to give opportunities to boys and girls all over Queensland to play cricket.”

Thuringowa Bulldogs President Ben Payne said the project would be a huge boost for grassroots participation in Aussie Rules football.

“Our members would love nothing more than to see their favourite AFL team and players in their home city at Riverway Stadium,” he said.

“This would be a massive deal for the sport locally and we’re really grateful to Phil Thompson for his advocacy for this lighting upgrade.”

Mr Thompson said he looked forward to working with Townsville Council to make the project a reality, after being in the too-hard basket for too long.

“Council has said that a lighting upgrade at Riverway would need significant federal or state government investment, so it’s great that with the support of the community we’ve been able to secure this funding commitment from a re-elected Coalition Government,” he said.

Originally published as Coalition government promises $5m for Riverway Stadium broadcast lights, if elected