poster
- Brisbane Olympics Games set to blow out to $681
- Major infrastructure project set to cost extra $500m
- READ MORE: New Queensland premier makes big Olympics call
By DAVID SOUTHWELL FOR DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA
Published: | Updated:
‘Hidden’ costs for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games could blow out to $681m with a major infrastructure project set to also cost an additional half a billion.
Upgrades to link Brisbane’s central Roma St train station to the federal government’s $2.5bn Brisbane Live arena project are predicted to cost an extra $500m, with the Commonwealth picking up the tab.
Deputy Premier and State Development and Infrastructure Minister Jarrod Bleijie accused the former Queensland Labor government of hiding the spiralling costs.
‘This is an extraordinary amount of blowouts that the Labor Party have hid from the people of Queensland,’ Mr Bleijie said.
‘(Opposition leader) Steven Miles needs to apologise for hiding these cost blowouts … no one knew about it, the Labor Party knew about it, and they hid it from the people of Queensland.’
The Liberal government led by David Crisafulli elected to power a fortnight ago has vowed to review all Olympic Games venues in its first 100 days of being in office.
Premier Crisafulli has already announced three minor Games venues – Chandler Indoor Sports Centre, Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre and Sunshine Coast Stadium – have blown out by $181m before a builder was appointed.
The new state leader last week said he agreed with former premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that hosting marquee athletics events at the modest Queensland Sports and Athletics Centre (QSAC) would be ‘going backwards’.
Artist concept drawings for Brisbane Live at Roma Street, as part of the Cross River Rail project
‘The review has been advised that the minimum cost to keep the Gabba operational until 2032 is around $400m to $500m, the cost to extend the life of the Gabba beyond 2032 and upgrade the venue to modern code compliance is around $1bn,’ Mr Crisafulli said.
‘Due to the cost of a new stadium, the panel carefully considered an option to upgrade QSAC Stadium to 40,000 seats for the Games, with 14,000 seats in legacy mode, at a cost of $1.6bn, and keep the Gabba operational and compliant beyond 2032 at a cost of $1bn.
‘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 has become a major political issue with indecision about venues. Pictured are Australian opening ceremony flag bearers Jessica Fox and Eddie Ockenden at the 2024 Olympics in Paris
‘However, it delivers significantly less legacy and commercial benefit.’
Premier Crisafulli has also previously said he would not commit to a new stadium, which means a Gabba rebuild could be on the cards.
The federal and Queensland governments have agreed to a $7.1bn ‘funding envelope’ for the Games.
The previous state Labor government spent years mulling whether to pursue a $2.7billion upgrade of Brisbane’s iconic Gabba Stadium in inner-city Woolloongabba, or to build an entirely new stadium at Victoria Park.
Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie (pictured left) and Premier David Crisafulli have accused the previous Labor state government of hiding cost blowouts
The new stadium would cost an estimated $3.4billion as part of the city’s Olympics infrastructure legacy.
In March this year, Mr Miles rejected both options, and instead opted to funnel $1.6bn to upgrade QSAC to host 40,000 spectators and then hold the opening and closing ceremonies at Suncorp Stadium.
QSAC’s current full capacity is 48,500 seats and the stadium is located about 12km from the CBD.
Mr Crisafulli has repeatedly slammed the QSAC proposal, which he has called a ‘thought bubble’ and an ’embarrassment’.
