The Quirk review is in and it has recommendations!
The Gabba:
… the panel estimates an upgrade alone would cost around $2 billion. A full rebuild would cost around $3 billion – more than the $2.7 billion estimated by the Queensland government – plus displacement costs for the AFL and cricket.
How about a new stadium at Victoria Park:
The review instead recommends the government build a new stadium at Victoria Park with 50,000 seats for the Games, and more to be added later for the AFL and cricket. And, as Brisbane Times revealed on Sunday, the alternative stadium would come at a cost of around $3.4 billion – $700 million more than the government tipped for the Gabba.
And how about a new Brisbane Live Arena venue:
Instead, it recommends building Brisbane Live at a the non-parkland northern corner of Roma Street precinct which currently houses a carpark and workshop depot. This corner was originally set aside by the former Beattie government for a landmark public museum-style building.
Quotes are from: https://brisbanedevelopment.com/olympic-recalibration-review-recommends-new-victoria-park-olympic-stadium/?amp=1
Do we really need a third stadium that will sit empty for most of the year? Especially since it looks to be the more expensive option than a Gabba refresh, even taking the projected displacement costs into account.
I think they need to talk about what they would plan to do with the Gabba if a Victoria Park stadium were to go ahead. It would be more justifiable if they plan to convert it to affordable housing, for example.
Maybe if they go ahead with Vic Park, the Brisbane Live Arena could replace the Gabba accompanied by high density housing depending on the footprint. They’re already building the Cross River Rail to the Gabba which would be great.