Brisbane Live is now back in the frame for the 2032 Olympics, with Queensland Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie confirming the 17,000 seat arena would play a role in the Games, despite being removed from the formal government delivery plan earlier this year.
Speaking at the Queensland Media Club, Bleijie announced the state would go to procurement for the Brisbane Live project by the end of this year, with construction expected to begin in late 2026 and continue into 2027.
The arena is now planned for the Go Print site at Woolloongabba, adjacent to the new Cross River Rail station. The government has opened the site to private investment, and a new Treasury Transaction Team has been formed to secure capital for major projects such as Brisbane Live.
“We will go to procurement on the Brisbane arena by the end of this year,” Bleijie said. “Next year we will be planning, and I suspect you will start seeing it being built from end of next year and into 2027.”
Originally proposed for the Roma Street precinct, the project was cut from the government’s official Olympic venue plan. The $1.2 billion in federal funding previously earmarked for the arena has now been redirected to the new stadium planned for Victoria Park.
Despite this shift, the state government has confirmed that Brisbane Live will still play a role during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, albeit funded and delivered entirely through the private sector.
The federal government has maintained its total Olympic infrastructure commitment of $3.44 billion, which will support 17 new and upgraded venues across Queensland on a fifty fifty funding basis with the state. This includes the National Aquatic Centre and venues in Logan, Moreton Bay, the Sunshine Coast and Cairns.
Bleijie described the revised deal as a certainty boost for the industry and host communities, saying that “full funding has been secured” for the public venues. However, federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King stressed that all projects must undergo validation to ensure cost and delivery outcomes are met.
While the Victoria Park stadium has dominated headlines, Bleijie also acknowledged the potential need for a new train station near the RNA Showgrounds somewhere along the existing line running next to the ICB. A final decision has not been made, but sources have indicated that the recently upgraded Exhibition Station may not be usable during the Games due to its proximity to the planned athletes village.
This raises the possibility of a new rail station to serve the precinct, which could become a key transport node linking into the Cross River Rail network and supporting both the stadium and Brisbane Live arena.
The proposed site for Brisbane Live at Woolloongabba provides a strategic advantage, sitting on top of one of Brisbane’s most connected transport interchanges. If a new adjacent station is added, it could further enhance connectivity to the inner south and support long term transport planning for the precinct.
While the project still needs to attract sufficient private capital to proceed, the formal commitment by the state government to go to procurement marks a major turning point for the Brisbane Live arena, which had been in doubt following earlier funding changes.
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This exciting for Brisbane