Brisbane 2032 stadia setup bolster sought

Article posted by Coliseum, February 6^th, 2025

Image: Suncorp Stadium, Tiger Benji, CC BY 2.0

Football Australia wants a purpose-built stadium in Queensland to help cater to the sport at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics and give the A-League club Brisbane Roar a new home ground.

‘news.com.au’ stated that as part of a proposal submitted by Football Australia and Football Queensland to the Queensland Government’s 100-day infrastructure review for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games a permanent “tier two” 17,000-20,000 seat venue – with the potential for 13,000 temporary seats during the Games – has been put forward.

Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal and beach soccer within Australia and is headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only established in 1961 as the Australian Soccer Federation. It was later reconstituted in 2003 as the Australian Soccer Association before adopting the name of Football Federation Australia in 2005. In contemporary identification a corporate decision was undertaken to institute that name to deliver a “more united football” in a deliberation from the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) James Johnson. The name was changed to Football Australia in December 2020.

The 2032 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXXV Olympiad and also known as Brisbane 2032 or the abbreviation Bris2032, is an upcoming international multisport event scheduled to take place from July 23^rd-August 8^th, 2032 with Brisbane in Queensland (Australia) as the main Host City.

The Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland competing in Australia’s premier men’s competition – the A-League Men. The 52,500-capacity Suncorp Stadium in Milton, Australia, serves as their residence.

Brisbane (Australia)-based Football Queensland is recognized by both the State and Federal Governments and Football Australia as the governing body for soccer, futsal and beach soccer in Queensland.

‘news.com.au’ further stated that Football Australia and Football Queensland’s preferred location for the venue is Perry Park, long considered to be the home of football in Queensland and a 5000-capacity ground that previously hosted Australia Cup (a national knockout tournament run by Football Australia in conjunction with every State and Territory Member Federation in the country) games, A-League Women’s (the top-division women’s soccer league in Australia) matches and games in the old National Soccer League (the top-tier professional soccer league in the country from 1977 until 2004 when it was replaced by the current A-League competition).

Observed James Johnson, “A purpose-built rectangular stadium is critical to addressing the needs of the sport in Queensland. This venue will not only elevate the fan experience but also position Brisbane to host future international tournaments strengthening Queensland’s global reputation as a leader in major events.”

The Football Australia Chairman Anter Isaac said the 2032 Brisbane Olympics was a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to deliver a legacy for communities across Queensland and across the Asia-Pacific region. Football’s submission aligns with a best for City, State and Games masterplanned approach with a focus on innovation and sustainability and it reflects football’s leadership in creating infrastructure that will benefit generations to come.”

The venue would also provide a “financially sustainable and fan-focused venue” for the Roar who suffers financial losses from attracting crowds of less than 10,000 at the 52,500-capacity Suncorp Stadium.

The tier two stadium proposal has also been touted as being “low risk in terms of procurement and staging of construction in time for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games”.

“There are multiple examples of similar-sized stadiums being developed on time and on budget including most recently the 30,000 Western Sydney (CommBank) Stadium in Sydney which was constructed new at a cost of $300 million ($10,000 per seat),” the submission stated.

“The previously existing 24,000-capacity Parramatta Stadium in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia was demolished in early 2017 with the new stadium officially opening in April 2019 – an overall construction timeline of just over two years.”

The Football Australia and Football Queensland submission also called for a 60,000-seat “tier one” oval stadium to be built, a “modest refurbishment” of the Suncorp Stadium which would include raising its capacity to 55,000 and the upgrading of Football Queensland’s headquarters, Meakin Park, where the Roar’s men’s team trains.

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