Published January 2025
Locals have made a heartfelt plea to the powers that be, saying the future of inner-city green space for our children is at stake if Victoria Park is used for an Olympic and Paralympic stadium.
Nearby resident Jessica Spencer takes her young daughter and dog walking in the park regularly and said: “I would like to think my forebears walked through this park just as I do.”
“I’d like to think that the grandchildren of my grandchildren will do the same; that they could run and skip, lay down a blanket for a picnic and just enjoy this wonderful space.
“It must be preserved for future generations – that’s the legacy!” she said.
With the 100-day Review of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Infrastructure currently underway, due to report back on March 9, debate has reignited as to whether a new stadium in Victoria Park is on the cards.
President of the Brisbane Organising Committee Andrew Liveris, as well as Queensland Cricket and Brisbane Lions, publicly backed a new stadium in Victoria Park at the end of last year.
A letter from Brisbane City Council Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner to the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority in December also pushed for a new stadium and the use of private investment in venues.
“The original Games bid always envisaged the construction of a new stadium,” Cr Schrinner wrote.
“…Like all major projects right now, it’s clear the cost for the required new venues, particularly the main stadium, have increased significantly. To this end, I urge the Authority to consider all available options to utilise private investment in venues wherever possible.”
Consultant Arcadis put out a discussion paper in December, making the case for the ‘Brisbane BOLD’ plan by Archipelago which would see three stadia built in Victoria Park.
The plan envisions building a sports stadium over the inner-city bypass and building a new arena and aquatics centre over state heritage-listed parts of the park, including York’s Hollow and Gundoo Memorial Grove.
1500 native trees were planted in Gundoo Memorial Grove in 1959 by students from Brisbane Girls Grammar to celebrate Queensland’s Centenary, while York’s Hollow waterhole is a final remaining nod to the time when Victoria Park, once called York’s Hollow, was filled with waterholes and gullies.
In early January, grassroots community group Save Victoria Park made a submission to the 100-day review, outlining their main concerns which include: costs and value for money, hilly topography, deliverability risks, transport, environmental aspects, history and heritage, traffic congestion and dislocation, and all ability access.
Save Victoria Park spokesperson and Kelvin Grove local, Sue Bremner, said: “This parkland area has been part of Brisbane for more than a century and the city has grown up around it.”
“From the outset these Games were meant to be far-sighted with generational benefits. But where is the benefit in trashing a pristine park to build upon the expensively levelled land when it could be retained and other more feasible locations examined?”
Ms Bremner said the games committee should consider brownfield sites around Brisbane which are “eyesores crying out for refurbishment”.
“There has to be more lasting benefit for the city and future generations than swapping out a perfectly good parkland for some new venues when we can have both,” she said.
