The Sunshine Coast could be in line to host more events at the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics, thanks to the expected delivery of an arena and convention centre in Maroochydore in time for the Games.
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie on Wednesday confirmed that plans for a Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre at Kawana had been scrapped in favour of partnering with Walker Corporation to build the new facility, which will include an athlete village for the Games, in the emerging CBD.
Speaking at a press conference alongside Sunshine Coast mayor Rosanna Natoli and local LNP state MPs Fiona Simpson, Kendall Morton and Brent Mickelberg, Mr Bleijie said the arena – which could potentially hold 17,000 people – would be an asset to the region for the 2032 Games and beyond.
“We have needed this on the Sunshine Coast for so long,” he said.
“Whether you want to watch sport, whether you want to watch cultural events, music events, talent things, we will have something on the Sunshine Coast that we have longed for so long.
“Cairns has got a convention centre, Townsville has got a convention centre, the Gold Coast has got a convention centre, Brisbane has got a convention centre, and now the Sunshine Coast will have a convention centre arena sports cultural precinct before 2032.
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“We are in the heart of the economic drive on the Sunshine Coast right here in the Maroochydore CBD.
“We’re going to partner with the Walker Corporation and deliver accommodation for 1400 athletes and officials in the Games mode for the Olympics and Paralympics.
“We’re going to need the workforce to increase. There’s going to be jobs and opportunities.”
Mr Bleijie said the decision to axe the indoor sports centre at Kawana was a positive move for the Coast.
“When this arena is built on the Sunshine Coast, it is an Olympic and Paralympic venue,” he said.
“I have seen some comments from former councillors in the media saying that we’ve lost an Olympic or Paralympic venue. No, we haven’t. We’ve gained more, and I would suspect that an investment on the Sunshine Coast that’s going to be over $10 billion with all our projects is a pretty good investment in the next seven years.
“I’ve never been a fan of that indoor centre because it displaced other community groups and outdoor groups there. I took that to the election campaign, so I don’t think anybody would be surprised by that decision, but I might say I’m replacing it with an over $1 billion investment in an arts exhibition cultural arena in Maroochydore.
“So I think the Sunshine Coast is going to do pretty well out of what we have been able to achieve with our 2032 Delivery Plan.”
Cr Natoli said the arena plans would leave a lasting legacy for the Coast and give people “something to be excited about and look forward to”.
“When you think about an arts and convention and exhibition centre and arena, we’ve been talking about this for decades,” she said.
“To think that this will happen in the Maroochydore CBD in a short number of years is something that a lot of people will be really truly looking forward to and really being excited about.
“The whole reason we were ever involved in the Olympic and Paralympic Games is securing a legacy for our people into the future.”
Ms Simpson also hailed the plans.
“This is the biggest investment in the history of the Sunshine Coast, and we’re getting a better connection with our public transport, with an arts and convention centre, which we’ve never had before,” she said.
“Together, this is really going to be a game-changer on the Sunshine Coast.”
Mr Bleijie said the arena could help bring more Games events to the Coast. Basketball, football, marathon, road cycling, mountain biking and kiteboarding have been touted for the region.
“Next year, the International Olympic Committee and the Brisbane Organising Committee will finalise the sport program,” he said.
“What we promise the International Olympic Committee as a state government is we will provide the venues for the sports and then they allocate the sports. Having the type of facility like the arena on the Sunshine Coast actually may be more beneficial than just having an indoor centre at Kawana, because it may trigger the eye of the International Olympic Committee to do a bigger event on the Sunshine Coast.
“We will obviously go into bat for that, as would always would be the case.
“I’ve had very good discussions with the Kirsty Coventry, who is the incoming president-elect of the International Olympic Committee. We met on Sunday and she’s very excited by the 2032 Delivery Plan.”
Mr Bleijie and Cr Natoli also spoke about the upgrades to the Sunshine Coast Stadium at Bokarina – including increasing the size of the stadium from 1046 to 10,680 permanent seats – and to the Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Centre at Parklands.
“(The mayor) already has the shovel ready to turn the first sod,” Mr Bleijie said.
“I suspect on the Sunshine Coast outdoor stadium, what will happen now is the Games Independent Coordination Authority, my department (State Development, Infrastructure and Planning) and the council will get to work on the procurement. We’re going start these as soon as we can.
“I think the mountain bike one is also ready to go. The procurement will be able to start.
“The quicker we can get this stuff happening, the better. I know the council are keen, ready to rock and roll.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do with Walker and the athletes village. That’s obviously a bigger project because we’re talking in the billions of dollars.”
He said the exact plan for the arena had yet to be determined.
“It’ll be designed and constructed in a way that has multiple uses. It could be an arena, it can then be turned into a convention centre, it can be chopped in half – the design focus will be that we can get maximum benefit for the Coast,” he said.
“If it’s a 17,000-seat arena and you need all the capacity, it’s going to only be able to host one event at a time. However, if there’s smaller events, they can design in a way that we have maximum benefit for the arena, spectators, smaller sports, basketball, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and then the legacy options after that.”
Mr Bleijie said it was unclear how the arena might be tenanted in the long-term, but there was a possibility of attracting a national sporting team.
“Those discussions we have to have with the council, bearing in mind that this would be an arena, convention, exhibition, arts, cultural precinct, so it would be multi-use,” he said.
“I wouldn’t want to say that we would give it to one person, that would be to the detriment of others. Bear in mind that we’re looking at a PPP (public private partnership), so we want to make sure that it has maximum exposure and is beneficial for everybody on the Sunshine Coast. But if we can attract national teams here, then great. We’ll work with the council on that.”
