WilkinsonEyre reveals its concept for Brisbane 2032 Olympic & Paralympic Games

Architect WilkinsonEyre has revealed the vision it has developed for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic & Paralympic Games that it has submitted for consideration to the Queensland Government’s 60 Day Review.

The proposal looks to dislocate the current difficulties in planning and execution of the existing proposal for The Gabba and develop a new site that would generate a mutually beneficial outcome for the 2032 Olympics and the future legacy of Brisbane.

The report of the 60-day review into Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, headed by former lord mayor Graham Quirk and commissioned by the Queensland Government, was released last month.

It recommended a new stadium be built at Victoria Park on Brisbane’s northside, which would hold up to 55,000 seats and cost between A$3-3.4 billion.

The government has since ruled out building a new stadium at Victoria Park but is instead exploring upgrades to the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre (QSAC) and Suncorp Stadium.

WilkinsonEyre’s proposal that was submitted for consideration includes:

• The relocation of the Mayne Rail Yards northwest to the Aviation and Seaport precinct, on land/s that are significantly larger. This would centralise large-scale rail infrastructure, only some 5km away form the current location
• The extent of the Rail Yards to be transformed into an Olympic Park to cater for a wider variety of the Olympic Overlay to support a major sports venue and any additional venues or responsibilities
• The new Olympic Park would have a new Train Station built on the new Cross River Rail line to address the significant volumes of traffic during the Olympics and major events thereafter, along with the future legacy scenario of a new inner-city mixed-use precinct
• The new Station would also have a Pedestrain Bridge built over Breakfast Creek to connect to the various sites at Alan Border Field, Albion Park and Crosby Park
• A new 60,000-seat, multipurpose, oval stadium would become the home of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, along with Athletics, and become the home for AFL moving forward post games
• A temporary 18,000-seat arena would be built to support the basketball (or other sports as necessary)
• A large-scale parkland landscape would contend with the volumes of people during the Olympics, along with the Temporary Overlay required
• The Parkland would include a variety of Olympic legacy activities, such as an Olympic Oval, Olympic Walk, and an Olympic Square
• The Parkland would be used through the Olympics as a Livesite, suitable for anyone to attend, without needing to enter one of the primary venues on the site

WilkinsonEyre said in a social media post:

This site, we feel, is ideally located in inner-Brisbane, connecting the CBD, The Valley, Bowen Hills, and Newstead seamlessly. It would allow The Gabba to be retained, with an operational redevelopment, to be the home of Cricket for the Games and in legacy.

The Stadium would sit comfortably adjacent to the elevated Inner City Bypass Road Network and help diminish the scale and weight of the concrete structures from all angles. This proposal would look to regenerate the Breakfast Creek/Enoggera Creek edges to develop ferry access and renewed ecological environments along the body of water.

There is still time – so let’s get this moving!

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