Gold Coast City Council press pause on planned Gold Coast Arena

Article posted by Coliseum, August 6^th, 2026

Image: City of Gold Coast

The Gold Coast City Council has paused planning for the proposed 12,000 to 15,000-seat ⁠Gold Coast Arena at Carey Park in Southport (Australia).

Funding Shortfall

‘goldcoastbulletin.com.au’ stated that the estimated project costs have ballooned to roughly $1 billion leaving the Council facing an uncovered $400 million funding shortfall that the Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate is asking the Queensland State Government to help bridge.

The Gold Coast City Council (officially the ⁠City of Gold Coast) is the local Government body that administers the Gold Coast Region in Queensland, Australia. It is the second-largest local Government area in Australia by population managing the public infrastructure, the local planning, the waste management, and the community services.

The Gold Coast Arena is a proposed 12,000-15,000-seat multipurpose indoor entertainment and sports venue planned for a 4.5-hectare site at Carey Park in Southport, Queensland, Australia. Designed to host headline music acts, comedy shows and indoor sports it aims to support the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The 2032 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXV Olympiad and also known as Brisbane 2032, is a planned international multisport event scheduled to take place from July 23^rd-August 8^th, 2032 in Brisbane, Australia, with venues across the various regions of Queensland.

The 2032 Summer Paralympics, also known as the Brisbane 2032 Summer Paralympic Games, and branded as Brisbane 2032, will be the 19^th edition of the Summer Paralympic Games, an international multisport parasports event. The Games are scheduled to be held in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, from August 24^th-September 5^th, 2032.

Cost Escalation

‘goldcoastbulletin.com.au’ further stated that the initial estimates pegged the Gold Coast Arena price tag near $480 million but the updated business case and the tender figures placed the total design, build and operational cost closer to $1 billion.

Funding Gap

A $400 million shortfall remains in the public-private partnership (PPP) framework negotiated with the chosen consortium (the Amplify GC which features Live Nation – the global leader in live events and ticketing).

The Amplify GC is a corporate consortium selected to design, build and operate the $480 million Gold Coast Arena in Southport, Australia.

Council Position

The Councilors have signaled they will not support the increasing local rates or heavily borrowing to cover the missing funds alone.

Funding Refusal

The Queensland Premier David Crisafulli publicly ruled out injecting direct State cash into the Gold Coast Arena. The State Government maintained that the venue was originally designated to be funded locally by the city noting that transferring the land use was already a substantial contribution.

Alternative Options

While direct cash is off the table the State remains open to discussing the alternative non-cash asset arrangements or supporting the private sector delivery.

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