News Gabba Upgrade & Olympics News

[Tom14]

The SDA (which represents retail and fast food workers) is worse than useless. Back when I worked retail the company actively encouraged us to join the SDA, which speaks to the relationship

Yep, I got the same when I did brief stints at Hungry Jack's and Woolworths. The worst union in Australia bar none, bunch of weirdos run it too.

 

[Perrip]

Clock ticking on start of 100-day Olympic venue review

The long-awaited panel to decide on Queensland’s Olympic venues will be in place by next week, Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie confirmed while on a site visit at one of the stadiums expected to make the list.
The confirmation came as the government on Friday gazetted changes to ministerial responsibilities to remove certain aspects of Games planning from Bleijie in preparation for the new authority taking over.
Speaking at the Sunshine Coast Stadium in his electorate of Kawana, Bleijie said that change was imminent.
“By the end of this month, we’ll have a co-ordinate, independent co-ordination authority set up with seven panel members who will be doing the 100-day review,” he said.

 

[Section 5]

Clock ticking on start of 100-day Olympic venue review

Please please Crisafulli leave out "no new stadiums" in your terms of reference. We can only hope.

The validation report is in for the Kawana Indoor Centre with construction set to start late 2025.
I guess the process will start again.
As if the new Authority will not change it to Maroochydore CBD as his preferred site.
Below taken from the article
...........................................
Bleijie said any decisions about venues would be left to the independent panel, but still made his feelings known about one of the planned venues in his patch.
............
“We’re leaving it to an independent panel now.” (On his disapproval of the site for "Kawana Indoor Centre" in his electorate.
...........
Another gazetted ministerial change has seen Tourism Minister Andrew Powell take responsibility for the declaration of major events at government-run stadiums from Sports Minister Tim Mander. Suncorp Stadium, and other venues, are increasingly used for tourist drawcards, such as concerts.

 

[Grasshopper17]

Clock ticking on start of 100-day Olympic venue review

27 days and counting

 

[Section 5]

Gold Coast poised to poach Olympics events from Sunshine Coast amid stadiums delay

Growing uncertainty over the Sunshine Coast's flagship basketball stadium has been pounced upon by the Gold Coast, which says it is ready to host more Olympic events.

www.abc.net.au

"The Commonwealth is extremely concerned that further delays to venues with accepted Project Valuation Reports and procurement already underway will only result in further cost pressures," Ms King said.

"We have asked the incoming Queensland government to be aware of this."
..............................

Former mayor Mark Jamieson said that idea was unsuitable.

"An indoor sporting facility needs to belong in a sports precinct; it needs to be very close to major transport corridors," he said.

"Trying to put what is a very large shed into the centre of the Maroochydore CBD I don't think would be compatible with the planning that's in place."

 

[Section 5]

The state of all the venues before we find our who is appointed to this Olympic Authority
Quite a lot won't need a validation report, but all new venues and expensive upgrades should have one.
Nothing back so far for the big-ticket items: Brisbane Arena new site, Lang Park upgrade, Gabba possible upgrade or maintenance.
To date just 7 validation reports received and Bleijie wants one of them cancelled in his electorate and moved outside his electorate.
.......................................................................................................................................

Brisbane 2032 Olympic Venues
Business Case: Project Validation Report Received: (TBD) To Be Determined

Existing (15)	Upgraded (9)	New (6)	Temporary (5)	Non-competition (4)
Ballymore Stadium	Barlow Park	Brisbane Arena (Site now Roma St Parklands)	Alexandra Headland	International Broadcast Centre
Brisbane Convention Centre	Brisbane Aquatic Centre	Brisbane Indoor Sports Centre (TBD)	Broadbeach Park Stadium	Logan Indoor Sports Centre (New build but training venue only at this stage)
Brisbane Entertainment Centre	BCC (The Gabba) (TBD)	Chandler Indoor Sports Centre	Broadwater Parklands	Main Press Centre (Brisbane Convention Centre)
Brisbane Showgrounds	Brisbane Shooting Centre	Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre	South Bank Forecourt	Toowoomba Sports Ground (may not proceed Quirk review)
Chandler Sports Precinct	Brisbane Stadium (Lang Park)	Redland Whitewater Centre	Victoria Park
Coomera Indoor Sports Centre	QSAC (TBD)	Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre
Gold Coast Convention Centre	Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike
Gold Coast Sport/Leisure Centre	Sunshine Coast Stadium
Gold Coast Stadium	Wyaralong Flat Water Centre
Ipswich Stadium (BHA)
Manly Boat Harbour
North Qld. Stadium
Qld. Tennis Centre
Royal Qld. Golf Club
South Bank Piazza

 

[Andyz]

Please please Crisafulli leave out "no new stadiums" in your terms of reference. We can only hope.

The validation report is in for the Kawana Indoor Centre with construction set to start late 2025.
I guess the process will start again.
As if the new Authority will not change it to Maroochydore CBD as his preferred site.
Below taken from the article
...........................................
Bleijie said any decisions about venues would be left to the independent panel, but still made his feelings known about one of the planned venues in his patch.
............
“We’re leaving it to an independent panel now.” (On his disapproval of the site for "Kawana Indoor Centre" in his electorate.
...........
Another gazetted ministerial change has seen Tourism Minister Andrew Powell take responsibility for the declaration of major events at government-run stadiums from Sports Minister Tim Mander. Suncorp Stadium, and other venues, are increasingly used for tourist drawcards, such as concerts.

It looks less & less likely unfortunately....really doesn't make any sense to appoint an "independent" panel to work out stadiums but not empower them to recommend a new one!

Not sure how a Government can think it is wise to specify no new stadiums in their plan for Qld's capital that only has one oval stadium & it is old and antiquated compared to the rest of the country.

Beggars belief really let alone thinking we can host the Olympics with what we have - the biggest and grandest sporting event in the world - when we can't even retain test cricket with the rubbish facilities we have.

Can't polish a turd and any work done to the Gabba will be doing just that.....unless it is a total rebuild in which case far better value for money can be obtained with a new stadium elsewhere that will also ensure we can keep some AFL in our city for the next 5 years. It will be a big economic hit to the local economy to have no AFL or cricket in Brisbane for 5 odd years.

 

[Grasshopper17]

we can't even retain test cricket with the rubbish facilities we have.

To be fair, right now we probably don't really want to retain test cricket. I certainly won't be heading along this summer if the team is going to dish up more of the tripe we've seen in Perth the last couple of days.

 

[Dalions]

To be fair, right now we probably don't really want to retain test cricket. I certainly won't be heading along this summer if the team is going to dish up more of the tripe we've seen in Perth the last couple of days.

We are the Main Event now.
Without doubt.
Cricket doesn’t need a 60k seat Stadium.
Not even particularly sure we do, but in 15years, maybe .

 

[M Malice]

It looks less & less likely unfortunately....really doesn't make any sense to appoint an "independent" panel to work out stadiums but not empower them to recommend a new one!

Not sure how a Government can think it is wise to specify no new stadiums in their plan for Qld's capital that only has one oval stadium & it is old and antiquated compared to the rest of the country.

Beggars belief really let alone thinking we can host the Olympics with what we have - the biggest and grandest sporting event in the world - when we can't even retain test cricket with the rubbish facilities we have.

Can't polish a turd and any work done to the Gabba will be doing just that.....unless it is a total rebuild in which case far better value for money can be obtained with a new stadium elsewhere that will also ensure we can keep some AFL in our city for the next 5 years. It will be a big economic hit to the local economy to have no AFL or cricket in Brisbane for 5 odd years.

Yes it really will be incompetence of the absolute highest order if we don't get a new Oval Stadium out of the Olympics, mind-numbingly stupid.

 

[Andyz]

We are the Main Event now.
Without doubt.
Cricket doesn’t need a 60k seat Stadium.
Not even particularly sure we do, but in 15years, maybe .

Based on 8 sell outs this year I think there is a clear need for a considerably larger stadium.
And that is now....the stadium plan is for the future when our population will be double.....
Not to mention finals where a 60,000 stadium would have easily sold out.

I guess it boils down to how much we can afford to keep paying in the fight for tickets....if we want footy in Brisbane to only be for the wealthy I guess we can stick with a small stadium. Well that's assuming the Lions decide to stay somewhere where they aren't even supported by the Government anymore.
However if we want footy in Brisbane to be for all fans we need something way larger that will not always sell out....

 

[Walshawk]

Based on 8 sell outs this year I think there is a clear need for a considerably larger stadium.
And that is now....the stadium plan is for the future when our population will be double.....
Not to mention finals where a 60,000 stadium would have easily sold out.

I guess it boils down to how much we can afford to keep paying in the fight for tickets....if we want footy in Brisbane to only be for the wealthy I guess we can stick with a small stadium. Well that's assuming the Lions decide to stay somewhere where they aren't even supported by the Government anymore.
However if we want footy in Brisbane to be for all fans we need something way larger that will not always sell out....

It is unknown what size stadium is needed for footy. Many of those sellouts still had ticket available the week of the game. Perhaps only another 1k - 5k tickets would be sold with a larger stadium. It is simply not known.

60k is simply unaffordable and not going to happen.

 

[Gadzorks]

It is unknown what size stadium is needed for footy. Many of those sellouts still had ticket available the week of the game. Perhaps only another 1k - 5k tickets would be sold with a larger stadium. It is simply not known.

60k is simply unaffordable and not going to happen.

A stadium lifetime should be 50 years? Or more?

Good thing the population of SEQ isn't going to grow in that time. And your totally legit estimate of only needing another couple of thousand of tickets a couple of times is reassuring cause it's not like we have seen near exponential growth recently.

Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Grasshopper17]

A stadium lifetime should be 50 years? Or more?

Good thing the population of SEQ isn't going to grow in that time. And your totally legit estimate of only needing another couple of thousand of tickets a couple of times is reassuring cause it's not like we have seen near exponential growth recently.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I need to spend about 3 days in the nearest desert to dry off from all that sarcasm I just drowned in.

 

[Gadzorks]

I need to spend about 3 days in the nearest desert to dry off from all that sarcasm I just drowned in.

Yeah. Bit much really. Wasn't my finest effort, might need a cup o f tea and a lie down.

I do think the case for a bigger stadium for things other than just footy and cricket is very clear.

 

[Section 5]

It is unknown what size stadium is needed for footy. Many of those sellouts still had ticket available the week of the game. Perhaps only another 1k - 5k tickets would be sold with a larger stadium. It is simply not known.

60k is simply unaffordable and not going to happen.

I agree somewhat about what stadium size is good for AFL in a NRL state.
I would say at a guess 50k for last year's needs.
As others have said a new stadium is for the future and you don't want to do addons in 10 years' time.
We need to match Perth in my opinion so a 58-60k stadium in legacy mode.
One thing for certain, it needs to hold more people than Suncorp.

Regarding tickets being available during the week of the game.
People tend to shy away from tickets in the back few rows be it at a small Gabba or a large MCG.
Thats just how people's minds work.
They will gobble up tickets 3/4 the way back in a larger stadium no problems at all.
Even if those tickets are further away than The Gabba back rows.

The Gabba for many years has had a 4-ticket price structure. Premium, Prime, Standard and GA
The Club has deemed that membership demand needs a change of the price structure but not at the bottom end.
They have added 2 more categories both being above the previous top price paid by members.
Those being Premium+ and Deluxe.
As some other posters have mentioned to watch a game live at The Gabba with the family it is becoming too expensive.

A bigger stadium gives the hirer greeter scope for ticket price structure
You can have a much bigger GA sections and other cheaper seating structures flowing up to the top prices.
That type of pricing will attract more people to become a member or attend a game of AFL in SEQ.
Also, more corporate boxes to sell in a larger stadium
More allocated seating available for the big Melbourne clubs too.

Another new thing that is happening in Queensland next year.
Until now the Suns and Lions have always had their games broadcast live.
Starting in 2025 no Saturday games will be broadcast live for the first 11 rounds (being 1/2 season).
It could be a sign from AFL headquarters that SE Queenslanders will have to put up with delays in some FTA games, pay for Kayo or attend games live in the future.

 

[Dalions]

I agree somewhat about what stadium size is good for AFL in a NRL state.
I would say at a guess 50k for last year's needs.
As others have said a new stadium is for the future and you don't want to do addons in 10 years' time.
We need to match Perth in my opinion so a 58-60k stadium in legacy mode.
One thing for certain, it needs to hold more people than Suncorp.

Regarding tickets being available during the week of the game.
People tend to shy away from tickets in the back few rows be it at a small Gabba or a large MCG.
Thats just how people's minds work.
They will gobble up tickets 3/4 the way back in a larger stadium no problems at all.
Even if those tickets are further away than The Gabba back rows.

The Gabba for many years has had a 4-ticket price structure. Premium, Prime, Standard and GA
The Club has deemed that membership demand needs a change of the price structure but not at the bottom end.
They have added 2 more categories both being above the previous top price paid by members.
Those being Premium+ and Deluxe.
As some other posters have mentioned to watch a game live at The Gabba with the family it is becoming too expensive.

A bigger stadium gives the hirer greeter scope for ticket price structure
You can have a much bigger GA sections and other cheaper seating structures flowing up to the top prices.
That type of pricing will attract more people to become a member or attend a game of AFL in SEQ.
Also, more corporate boxes to sell in a larger stadium
More allocated seating available for the big Melbourne clubs too.

Another new thing that is happening in Queensland next year.
Until now the Suns and Lions have always had their games broadcast live.
Starting in 2025 no Saturday games will be broadcast live for the first 11 rounds (being 1/2 season).
It could be a sign from AFL headquarters that SE Queenslanders will have to put up with delays in some FTA games, pay for Kayo or attend games live in the future.

Yep the main reason why those seats were still not sold was because they were trying to sell those last few tickets for around $250 where under normal circumstances they would be $70 at most.

 

[Grasshopper17]

Yeah. Bit much really. Wasn't my finest effort, might need a cup o f tea and a lie down.

No not at all, carry on!

 

[Walshawk]

A stadium lifetime should be 50 years? Or more?

Good thing the population of SEQ isn't going to grow in that time. And your totally legit estimate of only needing another couple of thousand of tickets a couple of times is reassuring cause it's not like we have seen near exponential growth recently.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I never gave an estimate, I simply stated that it is impossible to know how many more people over and above those 32k - 35k crowds would buy tickets. Which it is.

And stadium life is around 40 years.

 

[Walshawk]

A stadium lifetime should be 50 years? Or more?

Good thing the population of SEQ isn't going to grow in that time. And your totally legit estimate of only needing another couple of thousand of tickets a couple of times is reassuring cause it's not like we have seen near exponential growth recently.

Thanks for clearing that up.

I never gave an estimate, I simply stated that it is impossible to know how many more people over and above those 32k - 35k crowds would buy tickets. Which it is.

Also, the MCG could sell 120k - 150k ticket for Anzac Day, GF day and and Big Vic v Big Vic finals, but that does mean expanding beyond the mooted 105k is a good idea.

And stadium life is around 40 years.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

I agree somewhat about what stadium size is good for AFL in a NRL state.
I would say at a guess 50k for last year's needs.
As others have said a new stadium is for the future and you don't want to do addons in 10 years' time.
We need to match Perth in my opinion so a 58-60k stadium in legacy mode.
One thing for certain, it needs to hold more people than Suncorp.

Lang Park - 52 500
Adelaide Oval - 53 500
Perth Stadium - 61 266

If the government wants to win a regular test match back again, it needs to at least have a bigger stadium than Adelaide. Maybe they should split the middle and aim for 57-58k.

 

[Happy_Neale]

I never gave an estimate, I simply stated that it is impossible to know how many more people over and above those 32k - 35k crowds would buy tickets. Which it is.

Also, the MCG could sell 120k - 150k ticket for Anzac Day, GF day and and Big Vic v Big Vic finals, but that does mean expanding beyond the mooted 105k is a good idea.

And stadium life is around 40 years.

There were a number on non-finals sellouts too. Does the MCG sell out regular season games frequently?

 

[Grasshopper17]

I never gave an estimate, I simply stated that it is impossible to know how many more people over and above those 32k - 35k crowds would buy tickets. Which it is.

Also, the MCG could sell 120k - 150k ticket for Anzac Day, GF day and and Big Vic v Big Vic finals, but that does mean expanding beyond the mooted 105k is a good idea.

And stadium life is around 40 years.

There were a number on non-finals sellouts too. Does the MCG sell out regular season games frequently?

The much more important question is, "does it matter?"

 

[Section 5]

The only real way to get your total & average crowd numbers up is with a bigger stadium.

 

[Section 5]

Olympics may not be enough to bring rail and rapid buses all the way to Sunshine Coast

There are fears one of Queensland's biggest cities may end up without a train or fast bus network that can carry athletes and spectators to Olympic and Paralympic venues.

www.abc.net.au

What's next?​

The newly elected Queensland government has vowed to lengthen the rail line and an update on the rapid bus project is due mid-2025.

Train must cross 'giant swamp'​

The new LNP government has vowed to spend billions more to extend the rail link between Brisbane and Caloundra all the way to Maroochydore by 2032, a goal which is yet to receive federal support.

But Professor Burke said the new heavy rail line would need to cross "giant swamps" and required major tunnelling work.

"It's going to be really difficult for us to make 2032, and it's going to take billions, billions, and billions of dollars," he said.