Brisbane’s ambition to stage the most accessible Olympic and Paralympic Games ever will not extend to major improvements at the Gabba, with Sport Minister Tim Mander declaring the government will not spend heavily on a stadium ultimately destined for demolition.
The Gabba’s disability non-compliance was cited by the former Palaszczuk government as a key reason the stadium needed to be rebuilt for the 2032 Olympics.
Marking six years until the start of the Brisbane 2032 Paralympics, Mander said on Monday there would be no substantial upgrades to the Gabba.
The 2032 sports program was expected to be confirmed later this year, with Olympic cricket – which will be played at Los Angeles 2028 – widely tipped to be the Gabba’s sporting swansong.
“We’re not going to spend an enormous amount of money on something that won’t be there in the future,” Mander said.
“It fits the purposes at the moment. Cricket’s played there, obviously AFL as well.
“It’s not a stadium of the future, but it’s a stadium at the moment. It’s still very able to run high-level sporting events.”
Mander met with para-athletes at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre – home of the state’s academy of sport – and Paralympics Australia chief executive Cameron Murray on Monday morning to mark six years to the start of competition in 2032.
The Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority last year recommended QSAC receive an upgrade so it could better serve as a training venue in the lead-up to the Games.
Mander conceded parts of the ageing stadium were no longer safe for spectators, with its temporary stands installed more than four decades ago for the 1982 Commonwealth Games.
“We are having ongoing discussions with people like Cameron and others in the sporting world with regards to what needs to happen here, if anything, and they’re ongoing,” he said.
Asked whether that upgrade could result in Paralympics Australia moving its headquarters to Brisbane, like Rugby Australia planned to move its sevens program to Ballymore as a result of that venue’s upgrade announced last week, Mander said the door was open.
“I want every sport in Australia headquartered here in Queensland, and we do have initiatives and encouragement for different sports to do that,” he said.
“If anybody wants to talk to us about those types of situations, we’re very, very keen to speak.”
More broadly, Murray said venue accessibility for people with disabilities was paramount, and Paralympics Australia had been liaising with GIICA stadium design teams about the major 2032 venues.
“It’s early days still, but … we have had some consultation around athlete requirements with regards to access to warm-up tracks and those sorts of things for Paralympians,” he said.
“We’re very comfortable with the early-stage consultation that we’ve had that’s involved our athletes and people with disability. We just want that to continue all the way through.”
Meanwhile, Mander dismissed a report in The Australian that an independent report had found the proposed Rockhampton rowing venue on the Fitzroy River had confirmed rowers’ fears about unfair competition on the course.
“We’re going through all the appropriate processes with GIICA, with the IOC, with the international sporting federations that are relevant,” he said.
“We’re very happy with the way the conversations are going and the evaluations that are taking place. Those international bodies have given us that feedback as well.
“So as far as we’re concerned, things are going well.”
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