Plans move forward for upgrades to two stadia in Rockhampton

With Rockhampton today set to host the NRL fixture between the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and Wests Tigers, this week has seen attention focus on potential redevelopments at two sports grounds in the Central Queensland city with a population of 80,000.

Rockhampton's traditional home of rugby league, Browne Park, will not only host today's Round 23 NRL but will also be the venue for the Round 24 game between St George Illawarra Dragons and North Queensland Cowboys next Saturday - 28th August.

The CBD venue, located next to the Rockhampton Leagues Club, was last year announced as the recipient of $25 million in funding from the Queensland Government for a new grandstand to boost its capacity to 10,000.

However, with the location of a new or upgraded Rockhampton stadium having been a talking point for years, prior to the last Queensland election, the Federal Government committed $23 million for the development of a 8,500-seat rectangular sports stadium with a grandstand seating up to 7,500 people at the city’s Victoria Park adjacent to the Rocky Sports Club.

However, studies have shown that the proposed Rocky Stadium is located on a flood prone site on the banks of the Fitzroy River.

This week, Rockhampton newspaper The Morning Bulletin reported on the Victoria Park proposal, quoting Federal MP for Capricornia Michelle Landry as saying the Rocky Stadium would be operational by early 2023.

It also quoted Australian Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce as saying the $23 million “funding will deliver a multi-purpose venue capable of hosting major events, as well as being a local community and sporting hub.”

By contrast, Queensland Rugby League Central Division Manager, Rob Crow, advised that the Browne Park development was running "full steam ahead" and he was working with Queensland Sport and Recreation to prepare for the first stage of construction.

Crow advised “the design brief is all but ready.

"The next step after that is to go to tender for a project manager and shortly after that a project architect.

"We're hoping that'll be in the next month or two."

Senator Pauline Hanson's funding announcement for Rocky Sports Club
Announcement of the Federal Government's $23 million funding for the Rocky Stadium was not made by a Federal Minister or local MP Landry but by One Nation Federal Senator Pauline Hanson.

In September last year, Senator Hanson presented a novelty cheque for $23 million from the 'Australian Federal Parliament' to the Rocky Sports Club.

In a Facebook post on Monday 14th September 2020, the One Nation leader said that she was pleased “to hand over a $23m cheque to build Rocky Stadium” and attributed the funding to a dinner she had with “the prime minister and finance minister last September”.

Guardian Australia later revealed that Senator Hanson had used the cheque to announce funds that are committed but yet to be delivered through the Federal Government’s Community Development Program.

While Queensland's major parties have jointly backed the redevelopment of Brisbane's Ballymore, it appears agreement on the the upgrading of a single venue in Rockhampton is some way off.

Common sense would suggest that the two sources of funding be pooled for a single development at an agreed site rather than the matter getting caught up with the ambitions of vote-chasing politicians.

Images: The concept for the new stand at Brown Park in Rockhampton (top, credit: The Browne Park Trust) and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson [left] poses with a $23 million novelty cheque for a new stadium in Rockhampton last September (below, courtesy of Pauline Hanson Please Explain/Facebook).