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- Published: November 26, 2023 14:36
New Delhi: The cricket stadium that organisers of the Brisbane Olympics had planned to serve as the focal point of the 2032 Summer Games will be torn down and rebuilt.
Following the government’s acceptance of a project validation report, Steven Miles, the deputy premier of Queensland state, announced on Friday that the redevelopment of the stadium, popularly known as the Gabba, valued at 2.7 billion Australian dollars (1.8 billion dollars), would proceed.
The Gabba cricket stadium set to be demolished and rebuilt for the 2032 Olympics. (ESPN) pic.twitter.com/j70LAUXame
— CricketMAN2 (@ImTanujSingh) November 24, 2023
According to Miles, the project will connect a new underground rail station to the Gabba, which has served as the state’s cricket headquarters for almost a century, and raise the stadium’s seating capacity to 50,000.
To accommodate the stadium’s larger area, a nearby elementary school will be moved. During the construction phase, there will be temporary relocations of cricket teams and the Brisbane Lions, one of the top Australian Football League clubs.
The project will take four years to complete
According to Miles, the building will begin following the Gabba’s hosting of an Ashes cricket test against England in late 2025 and be finished in four years, by 2030.
Miles said, “That project validation report assessed four possible options for the Gabba and identified that a demolition and rebuild provided the best possible outcome, the best value outcome for the city.”
Over 50,000 seats on game day and up to 70,000 seats for concerts, three green bridges, 50% open space, and a more walkable city.
That’s our vision for the precinct anchored by a new Gabba. pic.twitter.com/G9bZrXmmgd
— Steven Miles (@StevenJMiles) November 25, 2023
“It will be a well-connected stadium but most importantly, it will trigger the urban renewal that we want to see … it will be one of the best parts of the city to live in,” The deputy premier of Queensland further stated.
Brisbane as the host of the 2032 Olympics
Without any other contending nomination, Brisbane was chosen in July 2021 to host the Olympics in 2032. After Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000, Brisbane is the third Australian city to host the Summer Games.
The IOC referred to the Brisbane bid as “a passion-driven, athlete-centric offer from a sports-loving nation” at the time. The state of Queensland will host events, including those on the Gold Coast, which served as the 2018 Commonwealth Games host.
We need to make the Brisbane Olympic Games the Qld Olympic Games
Today I’m here in Mackay for a senate committee inquiry into the 2032 Olympic Games
We’re questioning witnesses including many people from fine community sports clubs, regional Qld councils & Regional Development… pic.twitter.com/jwmgMxCK3B
— Malcolm Roberts 🇦🇺 (@MRobertsQLD) November 23, 2023
Together with local governments from Brisbane and the neighbouring cities, the Queensland state government, and the Australian federal government are the main organisers of the 2032 Olympics games.
In order to meet the IOC’s current requirement of avoiding extravagant spending and any “white elephant” constructions, 84% of the stadiums and event venues in Brisbane were already in existence when the bid was first made. Upgrading the Gabba was part of the original intentions.
