Ambitious plans for a $2.3 billion (£1.8bn) Olympic stadium in Brisbane have ignited fierce debate, with conservation groups and Indigenous advocates warning of irreversible damage to one of the city’s most historically significant parks.
Queensland authorities this week unveiled digital renderings of a proposed 63,000-seat stadium for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, designed by Australian firms Cox Architecture and Hassell. The venue, inspired by the state’s iconic “Queenslander” homes — complete with a wraparound, veranda-like platform — would rise inside Victoria Park, just north of Brisbane’s city centre.
The stadium is intended to host athletics events as well as the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games. After 2032, officials say it would be repurposed for cricket and Australian rules football.
But the announcement has triggered strong opposition. Campaigners argue that constructing a brand-new arena inside a heritage-listed park contradicts earlier commitments by authorities, who had initially ruled out a new stadium in favour of upgrading existing infrastructure.
Victoria Park spans about 158 acres and holds deep cultural significance for Indigenous communities, who have used the land for thousands of years. Environmental groups fear the project could permanently alter the landscape.
Save Victoria Park, a local advocacy group, described the glossy renderings as “greenwashed computer imagery,” warning of what it called a “catastrophic loss of heritage parkland.” The group cited independent research suggesting that more than 1,200 trees could be felled during construction, with as much as two-thirds of the park potentially affected.
“There’s a marketing ploy to convince people that only a small part of the park will be impacted,” said Andrea Lunt, a spokesperson for the group. “These images are selling a fantasy. The reality is that Victoria Park is already a rare, beautiful, central green space full of history.”
Officials have pushed back strongly. Stephen Conry, chair of the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA), said the project would “maximise the use of parkland and green space” and allow “hundreds of thousands of people” to enjoy Victoria Park in new ways.
Queensland’s Deputy Premier, Jarrod Bleijie, went further, dismissing critics as “nimbys” and rejecting claims of long-term damage. He noted that the site was a golf course for much of the past century before becoming a public park in 2021.
“Before it was a park, it was a golf course. Before that, it was a dump,” he said, arguing that the land has not always been preserved in its current form.
Brisbane was awarded the 2032 Olympics in 2021, giving the city an unprecedented 11-year lead time — the longest ever for a host city. Initial plans to redevelop the Gabba cricket ground were abandoned in 2023 after cost concerns, following an independent review that instead recommended the Victoria Park stadium, despite its higher price tag.
With the Games still years away, the proposed stadium has become a flashpoint in a broader debate over urban development, environmental protection and how host cities balance Olympic ambition with community and cultural heritage.
