Harvey Lister, the head of ASM Global, which operates Suncorp Stadium and wants to operate Brisbane Arena, had wanted the $500 million set aside by the former Labor government to be spent improving accessibility.
“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,” Lister said last year.
While Suncorp Stadium has gone from a potential showcase venue for opening and closing ceremonies, to only hosting football at the Games, Premier David Crisafulli insisted “we’re not going to let it wither on the vine ahead of 2032”.
“It will continue to be a world-class stadium, and we will invest in it.”
Premier David Crisafulli
The confirmation of a 63,000-seat oval venue for Victoria Park supports the AFL’s expansion plans, and will likely see it compete with Suncorp Stadium for major events.
“I can only imagine the quality of that Vic Park stadium is going to be world-class. We want two world-class venues for our sports – AFL, NRL, rugby and football,” Hanham said.
“It’s got to be the pride of Queensland, two world-class stadiums that’ll be the envy of Australian sport.”
Ballymore intends to continue its push to becoming the home of Australian women’s rugby and Rugby 7s.Credit: Getty
Ballymore, the state’s spiritual home of rugby, was originally slated to host hockey at the 2032 Games, only for an 11th hour decision to trigger the move to a redeveloped Gold Coast facility.
But Hanham had no fears for the future of Ballymore, adamant the Reds’ focus was to continue building it into a high-performance facility and the home of women’s rugby and rugby sevens beyond the Olympics.
That proposal included an allied health outlet, with Hanham emphasising such a development could be used by athletes from other Games codes.
“With a runway of a Rugby World Cup here in Australia for 2027, and for women in 2029 and the Olympics in 2032, our view and expectation is the legacy out of those major events needs to be a world-class training facility for rugby sevens,” Hanham said.
“We have that for our Wallaroos, and that will make Brisbane and Queensland the home for our national women’s programs. Come Olympics, we’re going to be a training venue, and we can support the athletes to prepare.
“Making sure we’ve got the best-quality facilities for our men and women, our Olympic athletes, is going to ensure we can be one of the best-performing countries in the globe.”
