News Gabba Upgrade & Olympics News

[buttermuffs]

Well the 50c public transport isn't going to help me. I do think it is a good policy however.

40mins via car or 2hr 43mins via Bus. Think I will take the car.


View attachment 2002924

They need to be proactive in adding more bus routes that don’t rely upon heading to central Brisbane. This is terrible.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Well the 50c public transport isn't going to help me. I do think it is a good policy however.

40mins via car or 2hr 43mins via Bus. Think I will take the car.


View attachment 2002924

That's a pity, but hopefully you'll experience fewer cars on the road if others who have reasonable public transport start using it.

 

[Iron Turtle]

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/na...and-push-for-new-stadium-20240529-p5jhr4.html



Brisbane Olympic boss urges public to pipe up and push for new stadium
By Savannah Meacham
May 29, 2024 — 7.38pm


A Brisbane Olympic boss has called on people to argue their case for a new stadium, despite the Queensland government opposing it.

However, the chief executive of the 2032 Games organising committee, Cindy Hook, is confident the Brisbane Olympic infrastructure rollout will be sustainable and deliver legacy projects.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles has come under fire for disregarding an independent review’s key recommendations before finalising an Olympic infrastructure plan.

The review, by former Brisbane lord mayor Graham Quirk, proposed building a new $3.4 billion, 55,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park in inner Brisbane as the 2032 centrepiece.

Instead, the premier opted to upgrade the ageing Gabba, Suncorp Stadium and the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC).

Hook did not criticise the government’s call on Wednesday, saying it was up to policymakers to choose how to spend taxpayers’ money.

However, she said people should push the government to build a new stadium for the Games if that was what they wanted.

“If you think Brisbane is a growing city that needs a new stadium, I heard you might want to speak up on that,” she told a Queensland University of Technology business leaders’ forum in Brisbane.

Almost three years after Brisbane won the hosting rights, legislation was passed last Thursday to install the independent body responsible for overseeing and delivering the upgraded venues.

Hook said the state government was yet to provide a cost analysis and detailed plans to the organising committee.

“Let us get that information and study it, analyse it, and from there, we’ll say ‘these are the things that have to be met’,” she said.

Asked if she felt the state government had failed to finalise the 2032 outlook, Hook said the committee was “moving on a plan that the premier has laid out”.

“We’ve got to sort this thing out on QSAC and the Gabba, but don’t underestimate all the other great things that the government has committed to that are already in motion,” she said.

Hook backed the Brisbane Games to follow the Olympics’ “new norm” of delivering a cost-effective Games with long-term benefits.

“The new norm is about choices for the future, and I am confident the Games are going to be great,” she said.

Hook said the organising committee was resolute about sustainability and legacy being at the forefront of the Games, within the infrastructure parameters.

Brisbane organisers earned the hosting rights 11 years before the 2032 Games.

Hook said her goal was to make the significant lead time a blessing rather than a curse.

“One of the things I really focus a lot of time and thinking on is pace – you’ve got to get the cost structure right, get what needs to be done now done now, and figure out what can be delayed,” she said.

Further delays to the rollout are possible, with the opposition to order a 100-day infrastructure plan review if it wins the October state election.

Hook said the committee would remain adaptable in the face of any political changes.

“Things can change with a change of government, but I think that is a constant over the entire eight years [to 2032],” she said.

AAP

 

[Section 5]

It is nice to hear Hook say speak up if people want a new stadium.
She is game saying that as the Government appointed her, and they could easily change that.
Reading the comments on the article more are against a new stadium than for one.
8 for and 14 against. In my opinion the result would not change much it was 100/200 comments.

As usual people have no idea as to how the overall funding works including the IOC contribution.
They just have an opinion on what they hear from politicians so that is always going to be split depending on who they believe or vote for.

 

[Grasshopper17]

Yes, that will give them a figure to see how many more trips were made compared to the usual.
I doubt the LNP will continue with the cheap fare though should they get in.
Easy enough for them to say it was a desperate Labor policy and is not sustainable in the future.

Let's not kid ourselves... Whoever wins the election will be rolling back this policy the day after the election.

 

[Grasshopper17]

I don’t know why but I would have thought that bus fairs were a City Council thing?
Not State Government.

I think it's because the train and bus routes span multiple council areas.

Mind you if you're in the Kingscliff area the bus routes span multiple states but I ain't touching that one!

 

[Grasshopper17]

I had a 10 week USA jaunt last year and PT costs varied from city to city (listed in US $)

DC was the worst - 1 day unlimited $13 - 7 day $58 - mind you i love DC and so easy to get around the city
Boston 1 day $11 - 7 day $22.50
NY $2.90 per ride - 7 day $33
Syracuse 1 day $4
Las Vegas $4 per ride - 3 day pass $20
Denver 1 day $5.50
Chicago 1 day $3 - 3 day $15 - 7 days $20
Buffalo 1 day $5 - 7 days $25
Springfield MA - 1 day $3.50 - 7 days $15
Columbus $1.30 per ride - 7 days $15.50
LA $1.75 per ride (two hours of free transfers when you pay with a TAP card)
Philly $2 per ride - 1 day $6 - 3 days $15 - 7 days $25.50


Looking forward to 50c a ride. Parking is $12 a day so i take the train for $7 a day

Are these government services or privately operated? I was under the impression most public transport services in the US were privately operated on the basis that the higher population density actually makes it profitable.

 

[Gadzorks]

Heh. I work in software development. The hype around AI is massively overblown in anything other than making up sentences summarising stuff already known (and my company is jumping on the stupid hype too). Anything other than building use cases on top of these new LLMs still require years of development or terrible false positives/negatives.

The buses and trains probably already have cameras monitoring everyone and they might even be high enough resolution to parse for people, but you'd need computing power, software, and all the rest of the overheads to actually implement that kind of monitoring.

All vs a 50 cent tap which requires no additional backend charges to process. For a six month trial (which will almost certainly be cancelled by the LNP when they win).

Is really good for doing research paper searches. Pulls up more relevant papers than manual or at internet searches

 

[Section 5]

Should the QSAC $1.6 million plan get the green light i would still go down the T20 world cup path with modular grandstands.
I don't care about the Aldi games look for a month of athletics that will revert back to 14k capacity (2 grandstands) anyhow.
As far as the look goes it ended up fine once the banding was applied to the exposed scaffolding. See video below.
QSAC will have the 2 grandstands to make the look a bit better anyhow.

The 1st trial game will be played on the New York oval tomorrow with the official games starting on the 3rd June.
Six months from start to finish with only 3 months construction being erecting and outfitting the temporary stands and facilities.
I doubt Australia could get that job completed in that timeframe.

Estimated costs @ April 2024 is US$30 million (AU$45.2 million) that's without night game oval lighting which Brisbane would require.
.....................................
The video below was taken in the last 2 days.
His voice is annoying so suggest you lower the volume and read what he is saying on the screen.
Can't find anything on what the corporate facilities look like when finished or the media and dressing rooms.




Ticket prices for the India v Pakistan game. Below taken from the article
"Let's start with the bad news. There are no additional tickets released for the blockbuster India and Pakistan T20 World Cup contest in New York on June 9.

Resale tickets are fetching up to $4000 on Stub Hub for the hottest ticket of the tournament. Tickets originally cost $145-$400, but was oversubscribed more than 200 times the allocation in the public ballot.

Premium tickets for India's New York matches cost $300, with the most expensive hospitality seat at $7500"

Tickets Available For India’s T20 Cricket World Cup Matches In The U.S.

Additional tickets have been released for a number of T20 World Cup matches, including India's blockbuster games in New York.

www.forbes.com

 

[Section 5]

Labor has messed up the proposed two big ticket builds for the Olympics.
The review terms of reference ended up being a joke as they were not followed anyhow.
Also excluding any proposed new Olympic sports as in T20 cricket was also a huge mistake.
I still think Victoria Park is a longshot even if political parties change their minds.
However, let's go on the assumption that Victoria Park gets through all the processes and is given the green light.

First i would like to say in my opinion T20 cricket could be the best money spinner even better than the usual number 1 being the Opening and Closing ceremonies.
I am only a casual cricket follower (results etc don't watch games) so no bias in that regard.
But cricket is big in Australia and a religion in India and some other cricket nations.
There will be huge viewing numbers in India and Pakistan alone, with a combined population of 2.5 billion.
Tourism from these two countries will also be huge.
Selling the Olympic rights and viewing numbers will be super important in the final revenue return for Brisbane.
The time zone difference is only 4-5 hours for India and Pakistan.
Brisbane will be only the 3rd time Cricket has been an Olympic sport. So, the public interest should be high.
First was in 1900 with the next being the T20 format played in LA 2028.

So, what would i do if i had a free hand and Victoria Park was given a green light.

Lang Park: Opening/Closing ceremony and some of the other proposed sports but they may have to be reduced.
Victoria Park: T 20 cricket big games including the final.
Victoria Park: Still should be able to hold the Equestrian cross country and the BMX events seeing it is a large site.
The Gabba: T20 cricket.
Carrara Stadium: T20 cricket the minor games.

QSAC: Drop the proposed $1.6 billion spend and use modular grandstands (the 2 ends) like in the upcoming T20 world cup.
Going on what the spend was on the New York 34K stadium and include lighting (none in NY) would be in the $80- $100 million mark.
That would include upgrades to the existing stands. Even if it went to $200 million it would be worth it over $1.6 billion.

I won't speculate on the Brisbane Arena as i just hope that whole project gets cancelled as it is not needed for the Olympics.

The State Governments site for Olympic Venues has "To be determined" for sports played for Lang Park, The Gabba, QSAC and Brisbane Indoor Storts Centre.

 

[Jivlain]

They need to be proactive in adding more bus routes that don’t rely upon heading to central Brisbane. This is terrible.

Back when I lived in Cambridgeshire I used to have a game I played: what was the geographically closest location such that the fastest public transport route to it was via London?

 

[Section 5]

Lucky the RNA being the Lions & cricket home ground got cancelled.
News tonight stated the Ernest Baynes grandstand is in urgent need of repairs for safety reasons.
The estimated time is 18 months from when they start the job.
Stand is now closed and the RNA to erect temporary stands for this years Ekka.
No estimated costs yet as the bricks have to be taken down one by one and reused due to heritage listed building

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Lucky the RNA being the Lions & cricket home ground got cancelled.
News tonight stated the Ernest Baynes grandstand is in urgent need of repairs for safety reasons.
The estimated time is 18 months from when they start the job.
Stand is now closed and the RNA to erect temporary stands for this years Ekka.
No estimated costs yet as the bricks have to be taken down one by one and reused due to heritage listed building

Heritage listing is a joke, reusing the same materials may mean that they'll eventually need replacing again within a few decades if those materials have quality issues.

 

[Section 5]

Heritage listing is a joke, reusing the same materials may mean that they'll eventually need replacing again within a few decades if those materials have quality issues.

The issue is apparently the floating slab. To fix that they need to take the bricks out.
They did not mention if all the bricks have to come out to fix the slab.

 

[Section 5]

The T20 World Cup has started, and Eisenhower Park held 34,024 for the India v Pakistan match.

Instead of spending $1.6 billion on QSAC this is all Brisbane needs for a 1-month Olympic event.
Costs US$30 million, full construction time 6 months. No lighting which Brisbane would need.
QSAC only needs two ends constructed and not much ground preparation.
Corporate stands on the right.
Players dressing rooms, media and corporates on the left that are mostly obscured. Similar size to the right structure.
Both these structures have 3 levels.
Banners hide the ugly scaffolding. Sell advertising for this space.
Not an issue in my opinion as the TV broadcast will focus on the athletics events and the crowd.
They could have temporary roof cover for the first 15 rows at an extra cost and would have a better look.

No concrete used in this project.
Everything gets dismantled when the T20 World Cup is over. I can't find the costing for this part of the project.





Banners covering the outside scaffolding
Not the greatest image but you get the idea

 

[Big Sauce 21]

That would be hilarious if we rolled that out.

 

[Dalions]

The T20 World Cup has started, and Eisenhower Park held 34,024 for the India v Pakistan match.

Instead of spending $1.6 billion on QSAC this is all Brisbane needs for a 1-month Olympic event.
Costs US$30 million, full construction time 6 months. No lighting which Brisbane would need.
QSAC only needs two ends constructed and not much ground preparation.
Corporate stands on the right.
Players dressing rooms, media and corporates on the left that are mostly obscured. Similar size to the right structure.
Both these structures have 3 levels.
Banners hide the ugly scaffolding. Sell advertising for this space.
Not an issue in my opinion as the TV broadcast will focus on the athletics events and the crowd.
They could have temporary roof cover for the first 15 rows at an extra cost and would have a better look.

No concrete used in this project.
Everything gets dismantled when the T20 World Cup is over. I can't find the costing for this part of the project.


View attachment 2015870

View attachment 2015869
Banners covering the outside scaffolding
Not the greatest image but you get the idea

Might as well just leave it as is then.

 

[Section 5]

Might as well just leave it as is then.

I think you are well aware the existing temporary grandstand structure from 42 years ago is unsafe and requires dismantling.
My issue is spending $1.6 billion to end up with a 15k capacity stadium anyhow.
This is what Coats wants until someone comes to their senses.
Use $1.2 billion toward something else.

 

[M Malice]

That would be hilarious if we rolled that out.

Yep what a laughing stock we would be, be better off if we say we can't afford the Olympics because we are going to "solve" the health, housing and education crises with all the money we save.

 

[Dalions]

I think you are well aware the existing temporary grandstand structure from 42 years ago is unsafe and requires dismantling.
My issue is spending $1.6 billion to end up with a 15k capacity stadium anyhow.
This is what Coats wants until someone comes to their senses.
Use $1.2 billion toward something else.

Completely agree ie. a complete waste of money, but nah, she’ll be right mate, it won’t fall down.
It’s only the Olympics, you don’t need to spend money.
All I am saying is that it basically looks like exactly what is already there, 50yrs outdated.

 

[Section 5]

That would be hilarious if we rolled that out.

Why they just did it for a T20 world cricket cup, one of the most watched world events.
They mostly got praise for the venue but the drop in pitch was not up to expectations for the players.
Sold out with original ticket prices ranging from $300 -$7500 US dollars for that particular game.

Yep what a laughing stock we would be, be better off if we say we can't afford the Olympics because we are going to "solve" the health, housing and education crises with all the money we save.

I don't get this (laughing stock) attitude.
The Brisbane games will be pushed as the new way forward for cities/states to stage an affordable Olympic games.
No more going broke staging the Olympics.
The world viewing audience will be informed of this well before people pay for tickets and accommodation.

When events are on like the 100 meters you will mostly see the athletes with the crowd in the background.
Same with every other event. The crowd will be blurry in the background
There will also be some footage showing the total grandstand crowd in the background
The media TV shots will be focused mostly on the athletes.
Either way we won't be getting crowds like the video below of all Usain Bolts Olympic finals.





Don't forget the Miles/Coats plan for a 40k capacity (15/15K after) venue is to dismantle most of what is being built anyhow.
So, their plan may look something similar anyhow but most likely some sort of roofing over all the temporary stands.
It would be nice if they could actually provide plans of the construction and what the end result will be like.
It would not surprise me if $1 billion of the $1.6 billion total costs is for infostructure.

 

[Big Sauce 21]

This is the Olympics, not some mickey mouse cricket game. They either needed to build at VIC park or can it. Embarrassment.

 

[Dom PC]

I think one of the main flaws with the "go with a temporary budget stadium" is the fact Brisbane actually needs a new oval stadium. So it's a total waste to put a load of fresh money into a temporary stadium and temporary public transport requirements, only to then need more money to build a new stadium and new public transport anyway.

There is obvious logic there which seems to be suspiciously (brown paper bags) getting overlooked by the labour government.

Pub test and sniff test are both failing here and it should cost the current state government the election. Just hope the libs have a semblance of a brain cell (and a spine) and make the right legacy choice for all of Brisbane and don't just choose who will line their personal/professional pockets the most.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Pub test and sniff test are both failing here and it should cost the current state government the election. Just hope the libs have a semblance of a brain cell (and a spine) and make the right legacy choice for all of Brisbane and don't just choose who will line their personal/professional pockets the most.

Putting your faith in any political party, red or blue, almost always ends in disappointment.

 

[CarterS]

Pub test and sniff test are both failing here and it should cost the current state government the election. Just hope the libs have a semblance of a brain cell (and a spine) and make the right legacy choice for all of Brisbane and don't just choose who will line their personal/professional pockets the most.

Libs appear to be so afraid to annoy anyone and drop votes they are basically agreeing with everything Labor have proposed. Haven't they said they'll send it back to a committee?