Press release: New report predicts Victoria Park stadium plan will miss Olympic deadline by six months

Tuesday 07 October 2025

THE Crisafulli Government’s planned Victoria Park stadium precinct is unlikely to be finished in time for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, according to a new report informed by industry experts and released today by advocacy group Save Victoria Park.

Time for Plan B: A cost risk analysis of stadiums in Victoria Park Barrambin exposes serious risks associated with the proposed dual stadium project, predicting the Olympics deadline will be missed by at least six months. 

Drawing on advice and analysis by constructibility, stadium architecture and town planning experts, the report also shows the planned 63,000-seat Brisbane Stadium will be one of Australia's most exorbitantly priced sporting venues. At $3.785 billion (or nearly $60,000 per seat) it is set to cost more than double per seat than other recently constructed major venues such as the North Queensland Stadium in Townsville.

The report comes as Save Victoria Park advocates plan to gather outside the high-priced launch of the Olympics procurement program, hosted by the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee at The Star, Queen’s Wharf tomorrow (08 October).

Protestors hope their presence will demonstrate the sustained community opposition to the destruction of Brisbane’s largest city parkland.

“The state government wants us to believe the planned demolition of Victoria Park for two Olympic stadiums and a warm-up track is inevitable - it’s not,” said Save Victoria Park spokesperson Sue Bremner.

“To those firms looking to get involved in this destructive project, we would say in the strongest possible terms: reconsider.

“It’s a high-risk proposition on so many levels. Not only is it fraught with practical and reputational risks, it drags our city backwards, both in terms of valuing our environment and reconciliation with First Nations peoples.

“Expert projections also show it’s highly unlikely these stadiums can even be completed on time, if built on such a challenging parkland site.”

There are currently two active legal applications relating to Victoria Park Barrambin being considered by the Federal Minister for the Environment and Water. These interventions were lodged under section 10 of the Commonwealth's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act in an effort to preserve what is one of Brisbane’s most important First Nations cultural sites.

Realistic renderings and calculations of the proposed impact of the stadiums show nearly two thirds of the approximately 60-hectare public park will be lost to multi-billion-dollar concrete sporting venues and related infrastructure.

“Uniting the community behind the Olympics can never be achieved while such culturally destructive development is being pursued,” said Ms Bremner.

“We were promised a cheap and cheerful Olympics, one that honoured our First Nations and the environment. The current proposals couldn’t get any further away from that if we tried. It’s time the government stopped this madness and outlined a Plan B.”