SYDNEY (Reuters) – The venue plan for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics will be unveiled late next month, the Queensland government said on Tuesday, finally bringing to an end a couple of years of flip-flopping over one the most important planning elements of a Summer Games.
Brisbane was awarded the Games in 2021 but political rows, particularly over the main stadium and the venue for the athletics, have resulted in continuing uncertainty over the final plans.
A panel appointed by Queensland State Premier David Crisafulli last November to conduct a second review of the venue options will report on March 8 and their findings revealed to the public, along with the government’s response, on March 25.
“Our delivery plan will provide a new way forward and get the Games back on track,” Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie told the state parliament on Tuesday.
“Queenslanders no longer want to be embarrassed on the world stage. We will deliver a 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games our state can be proud of and showcase what makes us a great state on the world stage.”
Australian Olympic Committee Chief Executive Matt Carroll warned earlier this month that a final decision on the main venues needed to be made before the end of June.
Crisafulli’s predecessor as premier, Steven Miles, had rejected a plan for a A$2.7 billion ($1.72 billion) revamp of Brisbane’s Gabba cricket ground as well as a proposed new A$3.4 billion Olympic stadium in the inner city’s Victoria Park.
Miles’ solution was to use the Lang Park rugby stadium to host the opening and closing ceremonies with the athletics taking place in the ageing QSAC venue in southern suburbs of the city.
That plan was described as an “embarrassment” by a group of local Olympic champions, while Australian athletics great Raelene Boyle feared it would make Brisbane 2032 look like a “cheapskate” Olympics.
Crisafulli is also on record as being against the construction of a brand new showpiece stadium but he softened his position in an interview at the weekend.
($1 = 1.5733 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
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