News Gabba Upgrade & Olympics News

[jakos]

The grandstands on the western side of the oval wouldn't be touched I wouldn't think - they're beautiful buildings. The entire site of the RNA Showgrounds is heritage listed, but that hasn't stopped certain building being knocked down (these have been what were essentially sheds though with little architectural value). What would potentially happen would Machinery Hill (the bench seating on the NE of the oval) would be demolished and the field would extend in that direction.

As for width, the current width is 10 metres wider than Kardinia Park, but I'd imagine there might be scope for a grandstand to extend up and over Gregory Terrace. I dare say the RNA wouldn't mind some kind of structure that could double as an overpass. There is the road tunnel which lies directly underneath at not a great depth, but I don't think works would be of such a scope that that would be an issue.

All in all, I think it's unlikely, but the arena will have some kind of redevelopment for the equestrian stuff for the Olympics, so it's not totally out of the question. The precinct is part of the Bowen Hills Priority Development Area, so there is scope for cutting of red tape here and there.

Heritage listed grandstands lack any modern amenities whatsoever to support back of house for professional events. One of the biggest challenges to staging sport is the drainage underlying the Showgrounds, which is located on Brisbane's most flood-affected street. It's not unknown for cars to float down surrounding streets in moderate downpours, and a lot of the residential development of the precinct involves significant under-street stormwater detention.

A major impediment to hosting cricket and footy there will be the event schedule in non-COVID years. RNA is the main music festival venue in Brisbane, and those events aren't complementary with elite sports turf, especially wickets.

 

[wantok]

Does make sense to knock down Machinery Hill and extend out that way with a new Stand featuring Changerooms under and Broadcast facilities at the top. Another covered stand on the Western Side along the Terrace. The Trotting track would have to go but could be reinstated as a "drop in" during Ekka time. Just a bit of creative thinking required. The Ekka ends up with a redevelopment and another facility with good transport options remains. Probably hold 25k which is comparable with Metricon and much more convenient.

On CPH1920 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[The Flying Belgian]

Heritage listed grandstands lack any modern amenities whatsoever to support back of house for professional events. One of the biggest challenges to staging sport is the drainage underlying the Showgrounds, which is located on Brisbane's most flood-affected street. It's not unknown for cars to float down surrounding streets in moderate downpours, and a lot of the residential development of the precinct involves significant under-street stormwater detention.

A major impediment to hosting cricket and footy there will be the event schedule in non-COVID years. RNA is the main music festival venue in Brisbane, and those events aren't complementary with elite sports turf, especially wickets.

Drainage has been upgraded in the past few years as you allude to and is continuing to be. Not just with the residential buildings. Replacing a lot of of the stormwater drains laid in the 1800s. Is it good enough? I couldn't say. But I spend a fair bit of time in this precinct and it's definitely better than it was. Haven't heard anecdotally of those issues in Water St of cars floating away.

Music festivals now occur wholly in the mega-tent on the northern side of the showgrounds, so wouldn't be an issue.

 

[HereIam86]

Every game you should up to you get a free showbag.

 

[HereIam86]

Premier's 2021 State of the State address

statements.qld.gov.au

THE GABBA

One of the greatest examples of vision, innovation and Queensland talents can be seen in our idea to use the Gabba as the ‘home’ of our games.

Brisbane firm Populous – builders of stadiums around the world – identified a way athletes can prepare for their events in a park near the Pineapple Hotel with a link to the stadium.

To labour a well-worn phrase, this was a game changer.

The Gabba has more than a century of history.

It’s a workhorse, already in use 40 weeks of the year.

A raised pedestrian plaza - itself an Olympic venue - would connect the Gabba to the Cross River Rail station already under construction nearby.

Right now, beneath our city, huge machines are tunnelling through the rock creating our first underground rail network.

It’s a huge project supporting 7,700 jobs.

Cross River Rail adds 10 kilometres to our rail network and six new stations further connecting our Olympic venues.

It means the Gabba will be a two minute train ride from a new Albert Street station in the CBD, something few Olympic cities can boast.

It also connects to the rest of our rail network providing access for people of all levels of mobility from right across the region forevermore.

Together with the Brisbane Live venue at the upper end of Roma Street, we will have 8 Olympic competition venues hosting 14 sports, all within walking distance of each other, connected by hundreds of bars, cafes, restaurants and world class hotels.

The 300-hectare Northshore Hamilton Priority Development Area - the proposed site for the Brisbane Olympic Village - will be transformed along with the Gold Coast Olympic Village at Robina and provide for further housing into the future.

In total there will be 21 venues in Brisbane, seven on the Gold Coast and four on the Sunshine Coast.

There will be opportunities for events at the North Queensland stadium in Townsville, for athlete training in Cairns and Mackay, and events across other regional centres including Logan, Toowoomba, Redlands and Ipswich to name a few.

The 2032 Brisbane Olympics puts Queensland on the map for business investment globally.

Just as the 2000 Olympic Games did for Sydney and New South Wales.

In 2024 there will be the Paris Olympics and in 2028 the LA Olympics followed by the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.

We have the most to gain in global business of any Games host over the past 30 years.

Not since Barcelona in 1992 has an Olympic host been better able to capitalise on hosting a games.

That’s what we get by showcasing Queensland on the world stage.

Queensland becomes the Olympic State and Brisbane becomes the Olympic City.

 

[BRAB]

I am very excited for the infrastructure push the olympics is going to bring. The plans for public transport on the Gold Coast look fantastic for example.

 

[briztoon]

I am very excited for the infrastructure push the olympics is going to bring. The plans for public transport on the Gold Coast look fantastic for example.

I’m excited about the jobs it will bring, and hopefully the boost to the economy for the next decade.

Just not looking forward to the housing price increases.

 

[HereIam86]

The Gabba was good enough to host last year’s AFL grand final, but the Palaszczuk government is looking to the future. By 2032, it will be a seven-day-a-week entertainment zone, surrounded by new developments.

The proposed upgrade includes pedestrian links across and down Main Street, extensive new facilities, new lighting, seating and stadium technologies.

Historic school may be first casualty of Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic Games

At the centre of political tensions over Brisbane’s run to the Olympics is the Gabba stadium, and a neighbouring school that has survived for over a century.

www.brisbanetimes.com.au

 

[Johnny Bananas]

The Gabba was good enough to host last year’s AFL grand final, but the Palaszczuk government is looking to the future. By 2032, it will be a seven-day-a-week entertainment zone, surrounded by new developments.

The proposed upgrade includes pedestrian links across and down Main Street, extensive new facilities, new lighting, seating and stadium technologies.

Historic school may be first casualty of Brisbane’s 2032 Olympic Games

At the centre of political tensions over Brisbane’s run to the Olympics is the Gabba stadium, and a neighbouring school that has survived for over a century.

www.brisbanetimes.com.au

The situation with the school is unfortunate, but in the end it just doesn't make sense to have an Olympic stadium and a small primary school right next to each other, both due to traffic concerns and the school permanently being in the stadium's shadow. It's better if one of them moves. Seeing as a stadium needs great public transport and the Gabba will have both a train station and a high capacity bus station in a few years, it's probably best remaining in its current location. I can't imagine being surrounded by three major roads makes school pick up and drop off safe and easily navigable either.

There are several industrial sites around for the school to move to, but the state government really should offer them certainty on their future sooner rather than later.

 

[POBT]

Closing schools can be politically fraught. The Newman Government attempted to close a bunch of schools and copped a lot of flak for it. Moreover, inner suburban areas are currently high growth, with a lot of young families living in that inner circle of suburbs surrounding the city. They need schools in those areas.

Notwithstanding that, East Brisbane probably will need to close or be relocated. Even if it were to remain open at its current location, I don't think it could cope with the significant population growth, at least not without significant investment. The Gabba redevelopment probably gives the government the justification to do what they have wanted to do anyway. I just wouldn't expect the community to accept that decision quietly.

 

[jjami15]

Closing schools can be politically fraught. The Newman Government attempted to close a bunch of schools and copped a lot of flak for it. Moreover, inner suburban areas are currently high growth, with a lot of young families living in that inner circle of suburbs surrounding the city. They need schools in those areas.

Notwithstanding that, East Brisbane probably will need to close or be relocated. Even if it were to remain open at its current location, I don't think it could cope with the significant population growth, at least not without significant investment. The Gabba redevelopment probably gives the government the justification to do what they have wanted to do anyway. I just wouldn't expect the community to accept that decision quietly.

Wonder how this guy would react?

 

[Johnny Bananas]

View attachment 1271155
Wonder how this guy would react?

In a rather constructive way, actually.

 

[jjami15]

Well blow me down! The $$$ for that to happen would be very expensive. The state government already has the land at Coorparoo State Secondary College. 250 students or however many isn’t a lot so the infrastructure required would be be too extensive. I believe that would be a cheaper and better option.

 

[Warwick]

Surely they wouldn’t cop too much flak for relocating / closing one school??

Seems a small political price to pay in order to have a world-class stadium.

 

[Dalions]

Surely they wouldn’t cop too much flak for relocating / closing one school??

Seems a small political price to pay in order to have a world-class stadium.

I would think there would be more of an outcry if the Heritage listed Buildings were to be lost.
Re-locating 250 students is just an unfortunate circumstance.

 

[Jon Brown]

A split school campus would certainly make sense given the population growth in the suburb.

It would be the quintessential parody of modern over-sized public infrastructure to literally bulldoze an entire primary school just for a 5m extension of the stadium (that could easily be at the other end of the ground), some concrete paths, a few pillars and a VIP valet parking entrance. With some creative thinking they could easily find a solution to work around the school.

Yes they need space, but all of the redevelopment should be happening on the western/north-western side of the ground, that's where the stand will be totally knocked down and rebuilt, where the new main entrance and flyover to the station will be etc. Once the Hyundai Centre and the building next to the QCC are knocked down, there's acres and acres of space on that side of the ground. The stadium could easily be rebuilt entirely on that side only to get to 50k. The eastern stand could really remain as is, just with some aesthetic/facility upgrades. There's no need to be raising capacity on the sun-facing eastern side anyway.

The idea they need the entire 3.5-acre school site for the stadium redevelopment is absurd. It's a charming school that's been there for a long time, and could become a unique feature of our Olympic stadium. There's something uniquely Queensland and symbolic about it, it says a lot that our Olympic stadium is squeezed into the inner-city, pushed right up next to a little primary school, rather than on a massive greenfield site in the far outer suburbs with a huge highway to access it, on acres and acres of bulldozed land as it would be in so many parts of the world. It would highlight that the stadium is just one element of a vibrant area, that it fits humbly into the urban fabric around it, and doesn't require masses of significant places to be destroyed around it just to support it.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

Well blow me down! The $$$ for that to happen would be very expensive. The state government already has the land at Coorparoo State Secondary College. 250 students or however many isn’t a lot so the infrastructure required would be be too extensive. I believe that would be a cheaper and better option.

It's also not a walkable distance for a child from the existing school. Moving the school to Coorparoo means you're forcing everyone in Kangaroo Point and half of Woolloongabba into owning a car to drive their kids to school, and considering how many people are moving into those areas, that's going to exacerbate peak hour traffic.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

A split school campus would certainly make sense given the population growth in the suburb.

It would be the quintessential parody of modern over-sized public infrastructure to literally bulldoze an entire primary school just for a 5m extension of the stadium (that could easily be at the other end of the ground)

Much as I like the spirit of your post, I don't think there's all that much room at the other end of the ground. There's a heritage building that has to be worked around, a skyscraper, and there's supposed to be an overpass over Ipswich Rd to the new railway station. The skyscraper can be demolished and rebuilt over the car park, certainly, but it's expensive.

 

[Section 5]

By the time the Gabba rebuild starts sometime in 2024 i think the already small number of students may drop off considerably
Can't see this being a huge issue for the Government.
Certainly is a considerable inconvenience for parents/students/teachers currently attending the school
However long term the Qld. Government will have to look at inner city schools in general
The recent census should give them data for some planning

 

[The Flying Belgian]

Much as I like the spirit of your post, I don't think there's all that much room at the other end of the ground. There's a heritage building that has to be worked around, a skyscraper, and there's supposed to be an overpass over Ipswich Rd to the new railway station. The skyscraper can be demolished and rebuilt over the car park, certainly, but it's expensive.

All that land at the western end of the ground is currently utilized by state govt (unsure who actually owns it but I'd assume it's also Govt owned). The Gabba Towers "skyscraper" is a hole of a building that will surely be knocked down. Sports House South which is the old Gabba Police Station is heritage listed. Cricket purists would cry blue murder if the practice wickets were moveed though...

I'd imagine that the ground will have to shift up that way a little anyway, as the stadium would have to be large enough to accommodate the running track plus safety buffers around it

 

[Mr Ripper]

Shcool is overrated.

 

[jjami15]

It's also not a walkable distance for a child from the existing school. Moving the school to Coorparoo means you're forcing everyone in Kangaroo Point and half of Woolloongabba into owning a car to drive their kids to school, and considering how many people are moving into those areas, that's going to exacerbate peak hour traffic.

I think you’ll be surprised how many kids walk to school these days. Also, I thought most people already owned a car. I’ve driven on those roads at that time of the morning and it’s actually against traffic away from the city.

 

[briztoon]

I think you’ll be surprised how many kids walk to school these days. Also, I thought most people already owned a car. I’ve driven on those roads at that time of the morning and it’s actually against traffic away from the city.

Sheds loads near us. But the drop off is also pretty crazy.

 

[Warwick]

Surely the parents of the students were more upset when Fev was hitting dingers at them.

 

[Johnny Bananas]

I think you’ll be surprised how many kids walk to school these days.

Perhaps I would be. But would those who are walking to school walk an extra 1.5 km easily?

Also, I thought most people already owned a car.

I'm sure most do, but one of the advantages of inner-city living is that you can get by without a car due to having everything you need fairly close. Having no state schools nearby negates that if you have a child going there.