The nine-year countdown is officially on. Come July 23, 2032, Brisbane and its surrounds – including the Sunshine Coast – will play host to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
So, what’s in the pipeline for the region’s infrastructure to build or expand on existing venues to cater for sporting events proposed for the region?
The Coast will be home to four key venues and several sporting events.
That includes the marathon, race walking, cycle road race, cycle time trial, kiteboarding, football, basketball and mountain biking.
Alexandra Headland, the Kawana Sports Precinct and the mountain bike trails at Parklands are all set to see Olympic glory.
In addition, the new Maroochydore Central Business District will be the venue for a satellite athletes’ village.
Though little has been revealed on this project, Mayor Mark Jamieson said in December 2022 that it would be a 1374-bed Olympic Village.
However, plans have been confirmed for upgrades to the existing Sunshine Coast Stadium at Kawana, plus a new indoor sport centre earmarked to be built at the Kawana Sports Precinct.
Sunshine Coast Stadium:
The long-awaited Sunshine Coast Stadium expansion has been confirmed for the existing Kawana venue, with work set to begin in 2024.
The expansion will deliver an additional 10,768 fixed seats, taking total fixed-seating capacity to 11,814.
By utilising the mounds at the northern and southern ends, the stadium will have a total capacity of about 16,000 once upgraded. Additional temporary seating can be installed to boost the total seating capacity to 20,000.
As part of its 2023-24 capital works budget, Sunshine Coast Council has allocated $3.1 million toward finalising detailed design of the expansion.
Sunshine Coast Stadium is a proposed location for the 2032 Olympic Games football matches, which could include preliminary games and the quarter-finals.
Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre:
A new international indoor sports centre that will have capacity for 11 courts and the ability to convert to a 6000-seat show court will be built at Kawana.
Construction will start in 2025 and the centre is expected to be operating by 2027.
It is expected to host the Olympic basketball competition.
The cost of the project is set to be determined once the design process has been completed.
Cr Jamieson says the development will benefit a range of groups and sports, including basketball, netball, volleyball, pickleball, futsal and badminton, before, during, and long after the Games.
“This will result in the venue being available to our community in 2027, well before the proposed Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games basketball competition,” he says.
The decision to develop the indoor sports centre at Kawana follows a review of the site and another located in the Maroochydore City Centre. That proposal was for basketball to be hosted in the not-yet-funded Sunshine Coast Exhibition and Convention Centre within the Maroochydore City Centre.
