Arena to bring life to precinct between Suncorp Stadium and CBD

The Queensland government has backed a recommendation Brisbane Arena be built on a new site, with paths, bridges and boulevards to connect it to the CBD and beyond.

The proposed 17,000-seat entertainment centre has been on the agenda for years and attracted $2.5 billion in federal funding to be built above the rail lines at the CBD end of Roma Street.

An artist’s impression of the Brisbane Live entertainment centre, now known as Brisbane Arena and set to be built for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

It will host swimming for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games using a drop-in pool – the Brisbane Aquatic Centre will also be upgraded – and be served by the Cross River Rail and Metro stations under construction.

But the review, led by former Liberal lord mayor Graham Quirk, found there were engineering challenges at that site, as well as a risk of cost blowouts and delays.

Public transport would also be disrupted during construction.

The review considered several alternative sites, including the Riverstage and Victoria Park, and settled on a nearby location in an under-utilised section of Roma Street Parkland.

Concept designs for Brisbane Live, the precursor to Brisbane Arena, released by the state government in 2019. It is depicted at its original site.Credit: Queensland government

It was described as a “solution that may surpass the Roma Street over-rail site option in many respects” and a “city-shaping opportunity to improve connectivity by linking the city centre with Caxton Street and Suncorp Stadium”.

While the government rejected Quirk’s recommendations for the Gabba, the Queensland Sport and Athletic Centre, and a new stadium at Victoria Park, it agreed to move Brisbane Arena.

That will also address the unfinished business from the 2001 Roma Street Parkland development – specifically, a landmark building in the site now chosen for Brisbane Arena – and the 2003 Suncorp Stadium redevelopment.

A former government promised above-ground walkways to connect the stadium to Roma Street and the CBD, and scoped out repurposing Victoria Barracks – all of which were now back on the agenda.

“For the last 20 years we’ve had to shut down roads, and provide police and council officers to manage crowds, and cause disruption at considerable expense,” said Harvey Lister, head of ASM Global, which operates Suncorp Stadium and wants to operate Brisbane Arena.

“I think this is a great opportunity to finally open up that part of the city and improve the experience.”

Lister welcomed the decision to push ahead with Brisbane Arena, which he originally proposed as Brisbane Live, and upgrade Suncorp Stadium.

He said the stadium would need accessibility and amenity improvements before 2032, which should be prioritised ahead of any increase in capacity.

Under the government’s changes, the stadium would also host the opening ceremony for the Games, which would have traditionally meant placing the Olympic cauldron somewhere on site.

“Wouldn’t that be great, a cauldron at the cauldron,” Lister said.

“We just have to work out a way to have Wally Lewis kick the flaming ball that lights it up.”

The government has yet to nominate a site for the Olympic cauldron. This week it announced plans for a bronze statue to be erected outside Suncorp Stadium in tribute to the Matildas.

The Queensland Investment Corporation will rethink its plans for the available land above and around Roma Street station.