sport
Brisbane’s sports facilities push hits high gear as new venues and upgrades reshape the city’s game
From stadium rebuilds to training hubs, the infrastructure behind Brisbane’s sporting life is getting a major overhaul ahead of the 2032 Olympics and beyond.
How we reported this
Brisbane is in the middle of its biggest sports-facility building spree in decades, with more than a dozen major projects either under construction or entering advanced planning. The Queensland Government’s $2.7 billion Gabba redevelopment-a complete rebuild of the historic Woolloongabba stadium-is the centrepiece, but it is far from the only game in town.
The push matters now because Brisbane is set to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and every major code wants its home ground ready before the world arrives. The Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre at Nathan, the Sleeman Centre in Chandler, and the Brisbane Entertainment Centre at Boondall are all slated for upgrades. The state’s long-delayed $1.3 billion Brisbane Live arena, planned for the Cross River Rail’s Roma Street station precinct, cleared final environmental approvals last month.
Where the money is going
At The Gabba, demolition of the old stands is scheduled to start in early 2028, with the rebuilt 50,000-seat stadium due to open in 2030. That timeline pushes the Brisbane Lions and the Queensland Bulls into temporary homes for three seasons. The Lions are expected to play at the 42,000-capacity Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre-QSAC-while the Bulls have been in talks to use Allan Border Field at Albion for Sheffield Shield matches.
Down the road, the Brisbane City Council’s $180 million upgrade of the Brisbane Aquatic Centre at Chandler will add a 10,000-seat indoor pool to the existing outdoor facility. That project received federal funding of $50 million in March. The venue will host swimming and diving during the 2032 Games.
On the training side, the Queensland Academy of Sport at the University of Queensland’s St Lucia campus is halfway through a $45 million expansion of its high-performance gym and recovery facilities. The new wing will include altitude chambers and hydrotherapy pools.
What happens next
All these projects face the same practical test: delivering on time and on budget. The Gabba rebuild has already been pushed back by 18 months after early design disputes with heritage groups. The Brisbane Live arena still lacks a final construction contract. For now, local sport fans can expect continued disruption-but also a transformed city venue landscape by the early 2030s. The Queensland Government’s Games Delivery Authority is due to release a full schedule for all facility upgrades in October.