Brisbane Officially Announces New 60,000-Seat Stadium As Part Of 2032 Olympic Plans

The state of Queensland is set to welcome a new 60,000-seat stadium, Premier David Crisafulli has announced.

The announcement has been made as part of the Crisafulli government's final delivery plans for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, flying in the face of his October campaign comments which saw him note “we’re not embarking on new stadiums.”

The full plan was signed off by Crisafulli’s cabinet on Monday, March 24th, with the full announcement being made early on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 25th.

The announcement – handed down at Howard Smith Wharves – has confirmed that the main Olympic stadium for the 2032 games will be located at Victoria Park, with the 60,000-seater to ostensibly begin construction soon.

The decision was not without criticism, however, with protesters on hand to share their distaste for both Crisafulli’s backflip and the new sporting precinct, which will overtake Suncorp Stadium as the biggest venue in Queensland.

Former Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had noted a preference for The Gabba to host the games, though the seven-year countdown to the games had not left organisers with enough time to upgrade it to an Olympic standard in time.

“It came down to a choice, a choice between the embarrassment of hosting the Games in QSAC or a new stadium at Victoria Park,” said Crisafulli. “Any other choice would have meant placing the government’s political interests ahead of the interests of Queenslanders.”

Meanwhile, Spring Hill’s Centenary Pool will be upgraded to a National Aquatics Centre that boasts more than 25,000 seats, while the RNA Showgrounds will be home to the athletics village.

According to Crisafulli, the forthcoming Olympic games will also provide opportunities for regions beyond Brisbane well past the 2032 event. "We've mapped out a plan to deliver not just the Games but generational infrastructure for every part of Queensland," he said.

"There will be elements people disagree with but we have a plan now and we can go forth and deliver it for the budget that has been set. We can deliver once in a generation opportunity to build a better Queensland."

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News of the new stadium follows on from Monday’s announcement that the long-awaited plans for the new Brisbane Live Arena had been placed on “the chopping block” in order to help finance the newly-announced Victoria Park stadium.

Talks of Brisbane Arena began in 2016, years before the state government and local councils started considering the city for hosting the 2032 Olympic Games. The talks were led by Harvey Lister’s AEG Ogden, which now exists as part of ASM Global.

Brisbane Live Arena was mentioned in the city’s 100-day review of venues for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games, with the recommendation to move it to Woolloongabba and host the swimming with a “drop-in pool.”

The plan for the space then changed to make it a live music venue, offering punters a new, inner-city space to host more large-scale rock and pop acts, such as Dua Lipa and Olivia Rodrigo—both of whom recently only toured in Melbourne and Sydney.

In a discussion with Stav, Abby & Matt on the HIT Network’s B105 FM, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese weighed in on the future of a live arena that can host live performances. “One way or the other Brisbane does need an indoor arena so that you can have acts,” he said.

“It’s about leaving a legacy post-2032 as well, and the fact that Queenslanders want other options besides going up north to where the current entertainment centre is,” he added, before a cheer went up in the studio. “I certainly think that Brisbane deserves one, but we'll have those discussions in good faith once with the Queensland government once they release their report.”'