Former lord mayor Graham Quirk sees merit in the latest proposal for a new, privately owned Olympic stadium for Brisbane.
On Saturday, a private consortium called the Brisbane Design Alliance put forward its proposal for a new $6 billion, 60,000-seat stadium to anchor the 2032 Games. Premier Steven Miles was not entertaining the idea.
But Quirk was intrigued, saying the idea was “worthy of investigation”.
A consortium called the Brisbane Design Alliance has proposed a new $6 billion, 60,000-seat stadium precinct to anchor the city’s 2032 Games and replace the ageing Gabba.Credit: Brisbane Design Alliance
Quirk conducted the review of potential Olympic venues for the Miles Labor government that recommended the planned $2.7 billion rebuild of the Gabba be abandoned in favour of a new stadium being built at Victoria Park at an estimated cost of $3.4 billion.
“But it’s then a matter of how quickly the details can be brought together,” he told ABC Radio Brisbane this morning.
“It depends how far advanced Brisbane Design Alliance are in terms of their corporate backing ...
“The key thing that is against all of us now is time. So when we talk about 2032, facilities really need to be in place by 2031, so that gives us a seven-year timeline.”
Quirk said the consortium’s proposal for a stadium at Northshore Hamilton was “creative”.
“It’s based a bit more on the American model,” he said, noting that many of the venues hosting the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games are privately owned.
“LA facilities will be privately owned facilities. They’ll be using universities for the athletes’ villages, the stadiums are all basically privately owned ... large clubs and sporting organisations own those facilities,” he said.