Why the Olympics Mean Gold for Brisbane

Everyone in Brisbane will be a winner by the time the 2032 Olympics roll around. Take a look at the big changes on the horizon for our city. 

If you have ever lived in an Olympic city, you’ll know the excitement and buzz in the lead up. 

There really is something special about having the eyes of the world on you for a global event, not to mention welcoming thousands of athletes, media outlets and international visitors. 

An Olympic city is a place at its best. As we approach 2032, Brisbane is up for an incredible facelift which will elevate our status as a world-class destination even further. 

Brisbane 2032: the Master Plan for sporting venues

A total of 37 competition venues will host Olympic and Paralympic sports in 2032. The master plan takes advantage of what already exists in the key cities and includes six new venues, eight upgraded venues and 23 existing or temporary venues.

The Olympics will mostly be hosted in Brisbane, where 22 venues will host athletic competitions. The Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast will hold events across 10 locations. 

New or upgraded venues in Brisbane will include: 

• The $1 billion redevelopment of the Gabba
• The Brisbane Arena near the Roma Street Parklands, with a temporary pool for Olympic Swimming, Olympic Water Polo finals and Paralympic Swimming
• The Brisbane Indoor Sports Centre in Albion (which will host Olympic Basketball and Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball)
• A new indoor sports centre at The Mill in Petrie, Moreton Bay
• Chandler Indoor Sports Centre
• Redland Whitewater Centre in Birkdale.

Becoming an Olympic City

Welcoming hundreds of thousands of international guests for a two week period will require infrastructure to help people easily travel between venues and other destinations. 

According to Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, Brisbane has now started its “Coming of age as a city.” As he stated recently, the plan for the next few years is to “Go for gold in terms of tourism, transport and jobs.”

Outside of sporting venues, upgrades set to benefit Brisbane for the long term include: 

• Brisbane Metro; two new Brisbane Metro lines connecting 18 stations along dedicated busways between Eight Mile Plains and Roma Street, and Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and The University of Queensland. This will include a new fleet of 60 battery electric Brisbane Metro vehicles (following successful testing of the pilot vehicle)
• The Cross River Rail, linking Dutton Park to Bowen Hills and including 5.9-kilometre twin tunnels under the Brisbane River and the CBD
• The Green Bridges Program, which will make it even easier to get around the city on foot, by bike or scooter, or by connecting with public transport.
• Upgrades to Victoria Park, which includes attractions for kids (such as a pump track for bicycle rider, new shelters, barbecues and picnic tables, and upgrades to Spring Hill Common) 
• Wider sidewalks for better pedestrian access
• New trees to provide more shade in city areas.

While all this infrastructure is put in place, Brisbane will benefit from employment opportunities, tourism, trade and an estimated $8.1 billion boost to the economy. 

Housing updates

As the Lord Mayor said recently, “We already live in the best part of Australia and the Olympics will assure that it gets even better.” This is definitely the case for inner Brisbane, which will soon be home to a modern and well-planned athletes’ village. 

Located at Northshore Hamilton, the village will transform industrial land to accommodate 10,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes and officials. and add new homes to this already popular area. The prime riverside address will be used post Olympics for residential housing, aged care, retirement living and affordable housing for key workers.

For property in general, some estimates say Brisbane property prices could double in the lead up to the Olympic Games, pushing median values to around $1.4 million. It certainly highlights why this city remains one of the best places to call home in Australia. 

C’mon Aussie! We’ll be proudly waving our flags at many events and can’t wait to see you there.

I hope you enjoy the read.

Matt Lancashire