Iconic cricket venue ‘The Gabba’ in Brisbane to undergo redevelopment for 2032 Olympics

One of Australia’s most iconic cricket venues, ‘The Gabba’ in Brisbane, is set to be demolished and rebuilt from scratch for the 2032 Olympics, Queensland state’s Deputy Premier Steven Miles confirmed. The cricket stadium, which the Brisbane Olympics backers pitched as the centrepiece for the 2032 Summer Games, will be redeveloped at a whopping cost of 2.7 billion Australian dollars (USD 1.8 billion).

Miles said this project would increase the seating capacity to 50,000, connecting the Gabba – the state cricket headquarters for over a century, with a new underground rail station. A local primary school will also be relocated to increase its footprint.

Moreover, from the sporting perspective, cricket teams and the Brisbane Lions – a leading club in the Australian Football League, will also temporarily switch bases during the stadium’s rebuilding phase.

Gabba's redevelopment would take four years to complete

However, Miles confirmed Gabba's redevelopment would take four years to complete, starting after the Ashes Test in late 2025 and being completed by 2030.

“That project validation report assessed four possible options for the Gabba and identified that a demolition and rebuild provided the best possible outcome, the best value outcome for the city,” Miles said. "It will be a well-connected stadium, but most importantly, it will trigger the urban renewal that we want to see ... it will be one of the best parts of the city to live in.”

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Meanwhile, without a rival bid in July 2021, Brisbane was selected as the host city for the 2032 Olympics, becoming the third Australian city after Melbourne in 1956 and Sydney in 2000 to host the Summer Games. At that time, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) described the Brisbane bid as “a passion-driven, athlete-centric offer from a sports-loving nation.”

The Queensland state, including the Gold Coast - the host of the 2018 Commonwealth Games, will stage Summer Games events.

Alongside local councils from Brisbane and surrounding cities, with financial support from Australia's federal government, the Queensland state government was the main backer of the 2032 Summer Games.

The initial Brisbane bid stated that the hosts already had 84% of the stadiums and event venues in place to fit the IOC’s modern demand of avoiding excessive spending and potential white-elephant projects.