Brisbane 2032 Olympics: Aquatics Centre set as Queensland Government backflip looms

The Queensland government is secretly preparing for a major last-minute backflip by agreeing to build a state-of-the-art National Aquatics Centre for the Brisbane 2032 Games.

The Queensland government is secretly preparing for a major last-minute backflip by agreeing to build a state-of-the-art National Aquatics Centre for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics.

Highly-placed sources have told us the coalition will overturn its original plan to install a drop-in pool and approve one of the most important legacies from hosting the biggest sports event in the world.

The final details remain a closely guarded secret because the government is still crunching the numbers and not all of the key stakeholders have been told about the surprising turnaround, but the ambitious new plan is expected to get the green light over the weekend ahead of a formal announcement on Tuesday.

While there’s still intense sensitivity around government spending during the cost-of-living crisis, the change of heart will come as a welcome surprise to sports-loving Aussies and the country’s four Olympic aquatics sports - swimming, diving, water polo and artistic swimming.

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Artist impressions of the National Aquatics Centre proposed for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. Credit: Archipelago Architects.

They were all resigned to missing out on their wish for a permanent legacy venue after the government’s 100 day review rejected the notion of building a national hub that would have helped develop future generations of gold medal winning champions.

Olympic superstar Kaylee McKeown - one of the leaders of the greatest Australian swim team that’s ever been assembled - scoffed at the idea of a drop-in pool, telling the Courier Mail’s Future Event convention last year that it was absurd.

“If you’re going to put the drop-in pool and take that pool away, where is the legacy going to be left?” she said.

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Kaylee McKeown is a leader of the greatest Australian swim team that’s ever been assembled. Picture: Getty Images

McKeown wasn’t alone in quizzing the short-sighted plans of organisers, with Australia’s aquatic sports leaders convinced that their calls for a National Aquatic Centre had fallen on deaf ears.

Seemingly oblivious to the government’s secret U-turn, they even issued another heartfelt call for sanity just days out from next week’s formal announcement on event infrastructure.

“This is the greatest opportunity we have to deliver a true Olympic and Paralympic legacy – for the aquatic sports and the community - from the 2032 Games,” Swimming Australia CEO Rob Woodhouse said.

“If there is no investment in the NAC, it will be a missed opportunity to deliver an aquatics venue that Brisbane desperately needs.”

Artist impressions of the National Aquatics Centre proposed for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. Credit: Archipelago Architects.

Water Polo Australia CEO Tim Welsford chimed in, saying: “We can’t let this once in a generation opportunity of a home Olympics pass us by without building for the communities and sports beyond 2032.”

The proposal for a national hub to be built alongside the existing Centenary pool complex is absolutely stunning, and includes a brand new complex, featuring three new pools and two new dive towers.

The main indoor pool would seat 19,350 spectators during the 2032 Games before being reduced to just under 6,000 after the Games. A second indoor pool would have 5000 seats during the Games before being scaled back to 2,500.

Artist impressions of the National Aquatics Centre proposed for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games. Credit: Archipelago Architects.

Sources said one of the key reasons for the late change was the embarrassment organisers feared after witnessing the stunning success of last year’s Paris Olympics and seeing the ambitious plans for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, where the swimming competition will be held in SoFi Stadium, the regular home of NFL teams, the LA Rams and Chargers.

“All four aquatics sports are determined to advocate for a truly national facility that benefits the community as well as our respective high-performance programs well beyond the two week window of hosting an Olympic Games,” Diving Australia CEO Alex Newton said.

Originally published as Brisbane 2032 Olympics: Aquatics Centre set as Queensland Government backflip looms