“Hidden” costs for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games could reach $681 million, with a major infrastructure project also costing an additional $500 million.
Upgrades to connect Brisbane’s Roma St central train station to the federal government’s $2.5 billion Brisbane Live stadium project are expected to cost an additional $500 million, with the Commonwealth footing the bill.
Deputy Premier and Minister for Infrastructure and State Development Jarrod Bleijie accused the former Queensland Labor government of hiding rising costs.
“This is an extraordinary number of explosions that the Labor Party has hidden from the people of Queensland,” Mr Bleijie said.
“(Opposition Leader) Steven Miles needs to apologize for hiding these cost increases…no one knew, the Labor Party knew and they kept it from the people of Queensland.”
The Liberal government led by David Crisafulli, elected to power a fortnight ago, has promised to review all Olympic Games venues in its first 100 days in office.
Premier Crisafulli has already announced that three smaller Games venues – Chandler Indoor Sports Centre, Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Center and Sunshine Coast Stadium – had spent $181 million before a builder was appointed.
The new state leader said last week that he agreed with the former premier. Annastacia Palaszczuk that hosting major athletics events at the modest Queensland Sports and Athletics Center (QSAC) would be “going backwards”.
Conceptual drawings by the artist for Brisbane Live on Roma Street, as part of the Cross River Rail project
“The review has been told that the minimum cost to keep the Gabba in operation until 2032 is around $400 to $500 million, the cost of extending the life of the Gabba beyond 2032 and upgrading the venue to meet with modern code it is around a billion dollars.” said Mr. Crisafulli.
“Due to the cost of a new stadium, the panel carefully considered an option to upgrade the QSAC stadium to 40,000 seats for the Games, with 14,000 seats in legacy mode, at a cost of $1.6 billion, and keep the Gabba operational and compliant. standards beyond 2032. at a cost of $1 billion.
‘The combined cost of upgrading QSAC plus keeping the Gabba operational and compliant beyond 2032 is comparable to building a new stadium.
The Brisbane Olympics have become a major political issue with indecision over venues. Pictured are Australian opening ceremony flag bearers Jessica Fox and Eddie Ockenden at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
“However, it offers significantly less legacy and commercial benefit.”
Prime Minister Crisafulli has also previously said he would not commit to a new stadium, meaning a Gabba rebuild could be on the cards.
The federal and Queensland governments have agreed a “funding envelope” of $7.1 billion for the Games.
The previous state Labor government spent years mulling over whether to make a $2.7 billion upgrade to Brisbane’s iconic Gabba Stadium in the Woolloongabba town centre, or build an entirely new stadium in Victoria Park.
Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie (pictured left) and Premier David Crisafulli have accused the former state Labor government of hiding cost increases.
The new stadium would cost approximately $3.4 billion as part of the city’s Olympic infrastructure legacy.
In March this year, Miles rejected both options and instead opted to funnel $1.6 billion into upgrading the QSAC to seat 40,000 spectators and then hold the opening and closing ceremonies at Suncorp Stadium.
The current total capacity of QSAC is 48,500 seats and the stadium is located about 12 km from the CBD.
Crisafulli has repeatedly criticized the QSAC proposal, calling it a “thought bubble” and an “embarrassment.”