The iconic Brisbane cricket stadium, also known as ‘Gabba’, is set to be demolished and rebuilt with an eye on the 2032 Olympic Games which will be held in the Brisbane City of Australia.
Brisbane was selected as the 2032 Olympic host in July 2021 without a rival bid, making it the third Australian city to host the Summer Games after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000.
Queensland state’s Deputy Premier Steven Miles on Friday confirmed the 2.7 billion Australian dollar (US$1.8 billion) redevelopment of the stadium, widely known as the Gabba, would go ahead after the government accepted a project validation report.
He added that the project will increase the seating capacity of the stadium to 50,000 and connect the Gabba, which has been the state’s cricket headquarters for more than a century, with a new underground rail station.
A local primary school will be relocated to make way for the stadium’s bigger footprint. Cricket teams and the Brisbane Lions, a leading club in the Australian Football League, will also be temporarily relocated during the building phase.
Miles added that the construction will take four years and will begin after Gabba hosts England for a Test in the Ashes 2025 series.
“That project validation report assessed four possible options for the Gabba and identified that demolition and rebuild provided the best possible outcome, the best value outcome for the city. 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,” Miles was quoted as saying by AP.
The Queensland state government, along with municipal councils from Brisbane and nearby cities, is the primary supporter of the games, with financial assistance from Australia's federal government.
The initial Brisbane bid said that the hosts already had 84% of stadiums and event venues in place to meet the IOC's current criteria of avoiding unnecessary investment and white elephant constructions. The Gabba was supposed to be upgraded in the beginning.
(Associated Press inputs)
