Contracts for Brisbane Olympic Games venues up for grabs

The starter’s gun has been fired for procurement to begin on venues that will be used in the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

More than A$560 million in contracts supporting more than 1,000 local jobs will be up for grabs. EOIs for tenders were released this week for the Sunshine Coast Stadium and Chandler Indoor Sports Centre and precinct works.

An EOI for the Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre will go to market in August 2024 and EOIs for the Aquatic Centre at Chandler and the Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Centre in 2025.

Thorough assessments have been completed on the Chandler Sports Precinct (also known as the Sleeman Sports Complex) and three Sunshine Coast venues, paving the way for the procurement process to begin.

The Australian and Queensland governments have jointly allocated funding from the $1.87 billion Minor Venues Program for investment in these projects.

A new A$142 million indoor sports centre will be built at Kawana Sports Precinct and the adjacent Sunshine Coast Stadium will receive a $148 million upgrade.

The stadium is proposed to host the football preliminaries and quarter-final matches during the Games with 20,000 seats (10,000 permanent – up from 1,000 now) but the upgrade will benefit the community, including tenants such as the Sunshine Coast Falcons, much sooner and long after. The dual projects will see the Kawana precinct become a hub of community and elite sport.

Also located in the Kawana Sports Precinct, the new A$142 million Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre will be a sustainable, modern facility with 11 courts and multifunctional areas suitable for a range of sports and community uses before and after the Games.

Earmarked to host Games competition with around 6,000 spectator seats, the new centre will meet the growth in population and the need for indoor court facilities in the region to ensure rising Sunshine Coast stars can continue to develop future sporting careers in their backyard.

The Chandler Sports Precinct and Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Centre and are also in line for multimillion dollar upgrades of A$257 million and A$14 million respectively.

Chandler Sports Precinct will benefit from investment for new and upgraded venues. A new Indoor Sports Centre is earmarked to hold gymnastics and Paralympic wheelchair basketball during the Games with 10,000 spectator seats.

The Brisbane Aquatic Centre is proposed to host diving and water polo and benefit from an upgrade, and there will be further investment for works that will benefit the whole precinct, where track cycling and BMX racing is also set to take place at the Anna Meares Velodrome and BMX SuperCross track.

Located near Nambour, the mountain bike centre will benefit from improvements to help meet the growing demand for mountain biking facilities in the region.

The new mountain bike cycling hub will offer circuit, beginner level trails and a skills park suitable for multisport events, as well as bike hire facilities and space for a café. It will host 8,000 standing spectators and temporary seating for 2,000.

The Q2032 Procurement Strategy will prioritise local businesses so they have the best chance to supply for projects which will support more than 1,000 jobs, with the first contracts due to be awarded later this year.

Early works on the Sunshine Coast Stadium will begin in late 2024, with other construction due to begin in 2025.

This means that – still more than eight years out from the Games – a quarter of the $1.87 billion Minor Venues Program will be out in the market in the coming months, and with further projects close to investment decision almost half are due out by the end of 2024.

The Queensland and Australian Governments have committed to sourcing at least 30% of procurement from Queensland SMEs for the Minor Venues Program, as well as targets for 10-15% of all the hours on the projects to be undertaken by apprentices or trainees – helping to deliver the pipeline of construction workers our growing state needs.

The final project scopes and locations were selected following a vigorous Project Validation Report process, have been endorsed by national, state, and local governments, and were recommended to proceed in the recent independent Sport Venue Review.

Communities right across Queensland are set to benefit from the Games, with events to be held in a range of locations including in Cairns, Townsville, Logan, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands and the Gold Coast.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles said:

We are going to put on a fantastic Games under the IOC New Norms and one that leaves a lasting legacy in communities right across the state.

These projects will create good jobs, new investment opportunities and access to world-class sporting and entertainment facilities – all while raising South East Queensland’s profile as a global sporting and tourism destination.

New and upgraded facilities right around the state will serve as world-class venues during the Games and a pivotal part of a legacy that will serve current and future generations of Queenslanders.

Minister for State Development and Infrastructure Grace Grace said:

Queensland’s golden decade of opportunity is here and we’re making the most of it to deliver lasting benefits across the state.

We are years ahead of other host nations in delivering competition venues this far ahead of the Games, which means they can be used by the local community and also attract high-calibre sport and entertainment events.

There is still more than eight years to go – Sydney 2000 didn’t have a master plan until five years out.

Since being awarded the Games, we have established the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organising and Legacy Committees, signed an historic $7.1 billion investment agreement with the Commonwealth, introduced legislation to establish an independent Games Venue and Legacy Delivery Authority, secured $2.75 billion from the Albanese Government towards the Sunshine Coast Rail Line, invested $100 million in our Go for Gold program for schools, and launched You for 2032, Australia’s largest ever athlete talent identification program.

Our Q2032 Procurement Strategy means businesses across Queensland are already getting match fit to win government contracts – worth an estimated $180 billion – in the lead up to the Games.

Sports Venue Business has launched a raft of new offerings under the SVB LIVE banner for 2024, including Networking Events and a Webinar Series, the pinnacle of which being the 2024 SVB LIVE Conference & Exhibition. The next Networking Event is taking place at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia, on June 25th.