Initial design for Brisbane Olympic stadium shows venue with one grandstand

Images of the current concept for the main venue for Brisbane’s 2032 Olympics and Paralympics show that a redeveloped Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC) will feature just a single permanent covered grandstand, with most of the venue feature uncovered temporary seating.

The photocopied image of the architect Populous’ current concept for QSAC, obtained by Nine media through the Queensland’s Right to Information Act, shows that Brisbane’s planned Olympic stadium will be the smallest since the Amsterdam Games in 1928.

The Queensland Government’s current plans are for the QSAC Olympic stadium to hold just 40,000 spectators and to be downsized to 14,000 after the Games.

QSAC was sensationally chosen as Brisbane’s main Olympic stadium in March, when the planned $2.7 billion rebuild of the Gabba was formally abandoned.

However, a Queensland Department of State Development and Infrastructure spokesperson told media that the image was “illustrative only and does not reflect a final reference design for QSAC”, adding “the project validation report process, including for QSAC, involves consultation with a range of stakeholders, both internal and external to government, and (is) often supported by briefing material such as presentations, with images to aid discussions.”

The spokesperson added that more renders are expected to be produced as the project progresses “with input from Stadiums Queensland, technical advisors, the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee, and other stakeholders”.

Andrew Liveris: Brisbane isn’t a ‘hillbilly’ town
The release of the images by Nine, coincided with Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympics President Andrew Liveris addressing the International Olympic Committee (IOC) session in Paris on Tuesday, during which he emphasised that Brisbane is no “hillbilly town”.

As reported by the Australian Associated Press, in a press conference after the IOC session Liveris referenced ongoing speculation about the main venue for the 2032 Games with final decisions on the venue not expected until after Queensland’s state election in October this year.

Liveris stated “I really ask to stop making the Olympics a political football please.

“This (Olympics) is a gift. Let’s get the enthusiasm for what we’ve been given right and whatever ends up happening with venues, we will deliver.

“Brisbane is not a hillbilly town, (not) that ‘strange place up north’. It’s very cosmopolitan, maybe not 24/7 yet, but on it’s way.”

Significantly although Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium was shown in his visual presentation to the IOC, ift featured neither renders of the redeveloped QSAC or the Gabba - originally proposed as the main stadium before soaring costs saw the project abandoned.

Advising that, three years after Brisbane was awarded the Games, preparations were ahead of schedule.

Images: An artist’s image of QSAC in Olympics mode, designed by Populous (top, credit: RTI - Queensland Government via Nine) and Andrew Liveris (below, credit: Shutterstock).