The Queensland Government has unveiled its vision for the transformation of the Brisbane Showgrounds at Bowen Hills, the 22 hectare RNA site that will host the athletes village for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games before becoming a new inner city neighbourhood. Artist impressions and a video released through the Delivering 2032 program show a rejuvenated showgrounds that aims to pair the heritage of the Ekka with a modern Games legacy.
The centrepiece for the Games will be the athletes village. Planned as the largest of the 2032 villages, it is expected to accommodate more than 10,000 athletes and officials during the Olympics and around 5,000 during the Paralympics. Once the Games are over the village is designed to convert into permanent housing, adding roughly 1,800 apartments to the Bowen Hills urban renewal area. Lendlease, which is delivering the village with landowner the RNA, has indicated the homes would come to market as build to rent or build to sell after 2032.
The state government has captured the plan in a new video, offering a first look at how the precinct could come together:
Beyond the housing, the plan upgrades the showgrounds’ 20,000 seat Main Arena, the heart of the Ekka, to lift the precinct’s entertainment and events capability well beyond the Games. Two of the site’s heritage grandstands, the John MacDonald and Ernest Baynes stands, are set to be restored and given much improved accessibility as part of what the government describes as a heritage sensitive approach to the wider redevelopment.
The precinct’s connections are being rebuilt at the same time. A new above ground Exhibition Station on the Cross River Rail line will link the showgrounds directly to the CBD, with platforms long enough for nine car trains and capacity for thousands of passengers on an average day. Early works, reported at around $287 million, are due to begin after this year’s Ekka, with the broader transformation to be delivered ahead of 2032.
The early works will fire the starter’s gun on the Brisbane Showgrounds’ transformation for 2032 and beyond.
David Crisafulli, Premier of Queensland
The design team behind the village is led by the Birmingham based practice Howells, which worked on the London 2012 Olympics, alongside Australian firms Woods Bagot, Cottee Parker, DBI and Plus Studio, with masterplanning guidance from BVN. RNA Chief Executive Brendan Christou has said the heritage grandstands will gain much improved accessibility through the works, while Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has framed the project as delivering both entertainment and events capability and much needed housing for the inner city.
The showgrounds village is one piece of a far larger 2032 program that has already been through several rounds of review, and much of the fine detail, including the final housing and affordability mix and the total cost, is still to be confirmed. For a site that hosts the Ekka every August, the test will be delivering a Games village and a lasting neighbourhood without losing the character that has defined the showgrounds for more than a century. We will update this article as more detail is released.
Project Rundown
| Development Parameter | Detail |
|---|---|
| Project Name | Brisbane Showgrounds transformation and 2032 Athletes Village |
| Location | Brisbane Showgrounds (RNA), Bowen Hills |
| Site Area | 22 hectares |
| Games Use | Athletes village for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games |
| Athlete Capacity | More than 10,000 athletes and officials during the Olympics, around 5,000 during the Paralympics |
| Legacy Use | Permanent housing, approximately 1,800 apartments (build to rent or build to sell) |
| Main Arena | Upgrade of the 20,000 seat Main Arena |
| Heritage | Restoration of the John MacDonald and Ernest Baynes grandstands |
| Transport | New above ground Exhibition Station on Cross River Rail, with platforms for nine car trains |
| Early Works | Reported at approximately $287 million, beginning after this year’s Ekka |
| Landowner | RNA (Royal National Agricultural and Industrial Association of Queensland) |
| Developer | Lendlease |
| Design Team | Howells with Woods Bagot, Cottee Parker, DBI and Plus Studio, masterplanning by BVN |
| Program | Queensland Government, Delivering 2032 |
| Status | Vision unveiled, early works commencing, delivery ahead of 2032 |
Artist impression and video via the Queensland Government’s Delivering 2032 program. Figures are drawn from government announcements and are subject to change.
