BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — The 60,000-seat stadium for the Brisbane Olympics, to be built in inner-city Parkland, has been announced as part of a major overhaul of plans for the 2032 Summer Games.
Queensland’s third prime minister, David Clicahululi, in almost four years since the International Olympic Committee awarded Brisbane’s 2032 match, announced his rainy current plans on Tuesday at the future Brisbane Forum.
More than 1,340 days have passed since the IOC’s decision in 2021, and local organizers have not yet launched an Olympic venue construction program.
“It’s just time to work on it. Take it on and build it,” Crisafulli said. “We’re going to start right away. We have seven years to make it work. And we’ll make it work.”
A 25,000-seat aquatics centre is also being proposed in the Olympic district, including the new main stadium at Victoria Park, a former golf course near downtown Brisbane.
The first 11 years Brisbane had to prepare have dropped to seven, and leaders at the federal, state and local levels agree that it’s time to start competing for venues and building them.
Newly elected IOC Chairman Kirsty Coventry, who oversaw the initial planning phase as head of the IOC’s Coordination Committee, has been updated regarding changes to Andrew Liveris, chairman of the 2032 Organising Committee.
Liberis said there was a daily involvement between the so-called 100-day review panel and his local organising committee, which is responsible for assessing options for all venues.
“The stage is important,” he said. “We still have seven and a half years. We have a plan. This is the Go-Get-It-Done plan.”
Brisbane was the first summer game to be chosen in a new process of putting preferred candidates into exclusive and prompt talks without having to face rival bidders with votes. Along with that, the IOC aimed to reduce the costs of the campaign and construction venue.
false starts
It’s been a year since local organizers abolished an early plan to destroy and rebuild the iconic cricket grounds Gabba, as the 2023-appointed review panel is the heart of the 2032 game when City Parkland’s new stadium was recommended, so it’s been a year since local organizers abolished the first plans to destroy and rebuild the iconic cricket grounds.
Gabba Rebuild costs skyrocketed, and the concept lost support from the Australian Olympic Committee.
Then Prime Minister Stephen Miles rejected the recommendation of that review, led by former Brisbane mayor, Graham Keek. Instead, Miles planned to upgrade the existing rugby stadium to host opening and closing ceremonies, renovating a facility built on the city’s southern suburbs, and host the 1982 Commonwealth Game as an athletics field.
Crisafulli went to state elections late last year with a promise of a new stadium, but then quickly enacted another review after seizing power for a liberal coalition. His Cabinet passed the recommendation and approved the new plan on Monday.
Or a crocodile?
Earlier this week, domestic media raised concerns about crocodiles at the Olympic rowing venue when they leaked an event to take place on the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton on the central coast of Queensland.
Crisafulli confirmed the proposed Fitzroy River venue and said “many” events were staged there, including a pre-Olympic row camp in Australia. He said local kids swam and paddled in the river most weekends, and the crocodiles weren’t an issue.
Rowing Australia said that crocodile concerns have been exaggerated in the media, but it raised several issues regarding river flow and fitness to Olympic competition. Liberis said that the world’s rows will visit the venue in May.
He also wasn’t worried about the crocodile at the rowing venue.
“There are sharks in the ocean, but we are still sailing, but we are still surfing,” he said, disregarding the effects of wildlife. “It’s a bit like Hollywood. I’m not worried about the crocodile.”
Opposition
A small group of protesters gathered outside the riverside location, where Crisafulli confirmed the revised venue plan. More protesters gathered at Victoria Park, holding a sign “reach out of Victoria Park,” and shouting “shame” after hearing the news of the announcement.
Save Victoria Park Community Group is fundraising for legal challenges to prevent the stadium from being constructed in a 64 hectares (158 acres) park on the hills.
Regions and Legacy
Brisbane organizers will host Olympic sports and sites where Cairns in Queensland will be built from the South Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, Cairns in Queensland, Toowoomba Outback gateways and equestrian hubs. Cairns is approximately 1,700 kilometers (1,050 miles) north of Brisbane.
The state and federal governments initially agreed to a 50-50 funding split for Australia’s venue budget ($4.4 billion) of over $7 billion.
The majority of the federal government was originally intended for indoor arenas adjacent to the city centre, which were originally set to host Olympic Aquatics at the drop-in pool and later transformed into a National Basketball League and concert.
The project has been scrapped and Crisafulli’s government is seeking private sector funding to spread federal funding to other venues and build similar arenas on state-owned land near Gabba, outside the scope of the Olympics.
Under the new plan, Gaba will be demolished after the 2032 match and replaced with a home. Main existing tenants – the Brisbane Lions of the Australian Football League and Queensland Cricket support plans to move post-Olympic and Paralympic capacity to Victoria Park Stadium with 63,000 people.
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