New 80,000-seat Brisbane stadium central to 2032 Olympics bid

Details for Brisbane’s bid for the 2032 Olympics have been revealed, with a new world-class 80,000-seat stadium central to the plans.

It comes as an Australian delegation met with Olympics powerbrokers in Switzerland, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk telling the congregation that Queensland would stage a “safe and welcoming” Olympic Games.

The new stadium would host the athletics and opening and closing ceremonies of a south east Queensland Games.     

Potential locations for the new venue include the RNA Showgrounds, QEII Stadium at Nathan, the Mayne Rodd Rail Yards at Bowen Hills and Albion Park.

The masterplan also includes two athletes villages - one in Brisbane and the other on the Gold Coast - a faster rail network linking the region and a second M1 Highway between the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Specific details of the new stadium or other venues to be used as part of a Brisbane Olympic are yet to be revealed, however Suncorp Stadium, the Gabba, Queensland Tennis Centre and the Sleeman Sports Complex would likely be part of the bid.

The Brisbane Aquatic Centre, Entertainment Centre & QEII Stadium, among others, are already considered dated facilities and would need work to be considered.

There’s also a host of facilities on the Gold Coast built or upgraded as part of the 2018 Commonwealth Games that could feature.

If the IOC likes what it hears, Queensland will proceed on its final bid, which will go before the IOC just before the Tokyo Olympics in July next year. A final decision would then be likely by 2022. China and Russia loom as the main rivals to a Queensland bid. Shanghai and St Petersburg also are understood to be readying bids for 2032.

If Brisbane was to host the Olympics, it would be the third Games held in Australia, with Melbourne the first in 1956 and Sydney the most recent in 2000.

(Photo: London's Olympic Stadium)