Australia Olympic chief backs review of Gabba rebuild for 2032 Games
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The Gabba, in downtown Brisbane, was built in 1895 and was last redeveloped in 2005.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SYDNEY – The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has welcomed a review by the Queensland government into the rebuilding of Brisbane’s Gabba cricket ground as the centrepiece of the 2032 Olympics.
The rebuilding of the stadium to host the ceremonies and athletics at Australia’s third Summer Olympics, after Melbourne 1956 and Sydney 2000, was part of a A$2.7 billion (S$2.37 billion) redevelopment of the Woolloongabba suburb from which it gets its name.
The Gabba, in downtown Brisbane, was built in 1895 and was last redeveloped in 2005.
In one of his first acts as the new Queensland premier in mid-December, Steven Miles announced that the redevelopment plan would be paused until after a review that is scheduled to report on March 18.
Mr Miles, an enthusiastic backer of the project, this week conceded that he had failed to convince the Queensland public of its necessity and suggested an alternative plan to a full rebuild might end up being a better option.
President Ian Chesterman said on Feb 8 the AOC fully supported the review of the Gabba rebuild, suggesting it did not fit with International Olympic Committee (IOC) expectations of host cities in the modern era.
“The IOC’s New Norm process is designed to ensure the Games are both affordable and sustainable, with a strong preference for the use of existing or temporary facilities,” he said in a statement.
“We believe there are other, more creative solutions than rebuilding the Gabba for the Games which provide a legacy for our sports and even greater access for fans to an exceptional Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“We will put these ideas to the review committee.”
Brisbane in 2021 was granted the right to stage the Olympics under the New Norm process, a more targeted bidding procedure aimed at saving hundreds of millions of dollars for host cities and increasing long-term sustainability.
Some 80 per cent of the venues for the 2032 Games are already in place, with the Gabba redevelopment and a federal government-funded A$2.5 billion arena to host swimming the only two major construction projects planned.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Olympic Committee (UOC) has asked the IOC to investigate the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris Olympics following alleged breaches of neutrality on Feb 7.
“I would like to address to you again on the issue of potential participation of AIN athletes (neutral individual athletes) with Russian and Belarusian passports – in particular those who compete in wrestling, in the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and their adherence to the IOC recommended conditions of participation,” UOC president Vadym Gutzeit wrote in a letter to IOC chief Thomas Bach published on its website on Feb 7.
In December, the IOC said Russians and Belarusians who qualify for the Olympics could take part in individual events as neutrals without their national flags, emblems or anthems.
Athletes will need to meet certain conditions that include that they have not actively supported the war on Ukraine.
They also cannot be contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies.
“We should like to address the IOC with a request to pay special attention to these issues”, Mr Gutzeit added, attaching a list of athletes who “in our opinion” do not meet the neutrality requirements from the IOC.
The Paris Olympics will run from July 26 to Aug 11. REUTERS
