A controversial Gabba rebuild plan should be scrapped, a Brisbane 2032 Olympic infrastructure review says.
Instead it has recommended the “ageing” iconic stadium be demolished completely and the site repurposed.
An independent review has opted for a $3 billion-plus stadium to be built at Victoria Park in inner-city Brisbane for the Brisbane Games rather than the Gabba revamp.
“You could spend a lot of money on (the Gabba) and keep it ticking, but there are a lot of issues,” the review’s Graham Quirk told ABC Radio on Monday.
“This would be a replacement. It would be a transition for AFL and cricket straight from the Gabba to the new facility.”
Former Brisbane lord mayor Mr Quirk led the 60-day Brisbane Olympic infrastructure review that reported their findings on Monday, providing 30 recommendations.
The government announced in November that the Gabba would be demolished and rebuilt for the 2032 Games, forcing Brisbane’s AFL and cricket to find a temporary home.
However, Steven Miles announced the infrastructure review a month later, soon after taking over as premier following a backlash over the $2.7 billion Gabba project’s price tag.
Opponents had called for the Gabba reconstruction to be axed because of escalating costs, with the plan’s initial $1 billion price tag blowing out to almost three times that estimate.
However, the infrastructure review on Monday said the Gabba rebuild would have cost even more, forecasting $3 billion for the reconstruction and up to $360 million in displacement costs for AFL and cricket.
A better legacy investment for a stadium would be realised at a site like Victoria Park, a former golf course, the report said.
“Integrating a new stadium within Brisbane City Council’s revitalised Victoria Park parklands has significant potential to create something truly unique in Queensland and to rival iconic parkland stadiums, such as the MCG in Melbourne,” it said.
The stadium’s construction would be “marginally more expensive” than the Gabba plan, costing up to $3.4 billion.
The recommendation has already sparked controversy, with former Queensland premier Campbell Newman calling the Victoria Park idea “disgraceful”.
The review has also recommended Brisbane Arena, originally set to be built over the train tracks at Roma Street, to be relocated.
“There’s no doubt the original site over rail is a superior site, the panel formed that view, but the issue was to build it you’re looking at in excess of $4 billion,” Mr Quirk said.
“There’s people that will be dislocated from rail and there’s a very long construction period and it may not, in fact, be ready in time for the games.”
The report recommended the arena should be moved to a council depot site to the north of Roma Street Parklands.
It is not yet known if the government will accept the report’s 30 recommendations.
