Stadium upgrade stalls
TOOWOOMBA’S top stadium won’t be upgraded until 2028 — and when it does, it will increase by 2600 permanent seats.
The city’s community and political leaders have reacted with disappointment to the release of further details about the state government’s planned improvements to the 9000-person capacity Toowoomba Sports Ground, also known as Clive Berghofer Stadium.
Mayor Paul Antonio has already indicated he would lobby Sports Minister Stirling Hinchliffe to secure a better deal for Toowoomba.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles’ office said the stadium was one of 16 venues that would be built or upgraded in time for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
As part of the $1.87bn joint-funding agreement between the federal and state government, the TSG would see its permanent seated capacity increase from 2400 to 5000 people.
Other upgrades would include modern facilities and broadcast quality lighting.
In a statement to The Chronicle, Mr Miles said the government would persist with installing 10,000 temporary seats in the stadium for it to host soccer matches during the Olympics.
“In 2032, Toowoomba Sports Ground will host the football preliminaries with 15,000 seats including 10,000 of those as temporary,” he said.
“Detailed planning for the upgrade could commence as early as late 2023 with construction anticipated to be undertaken between 2028-2030.
“All venues will be delivered well before Brisbane 2032 — this will maximise the legacy benefit for Queenslanders, as well as ensuring the venues are fully operationalised and tested well before the games.”
Mr Miles said funding for the upgrade would not be finalised until the Project Validation Report phase was completed, which is expected to be in early 2024.
It comes just a few days after the government re-announced a $54m upgrade of Rockhampton’s Browne Park, which would increase its seated space to 3500 and overall ground capacity to 7000.
Both stadiums are the home venues for Hostplus Cup teams in 2023 and both hosted NRL matches during the 2021 season.
Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce CEO Todd Rohl called the current TSG proposal “a slap in the face” to residents and business owners.
“I really appreciate that there is a contribution being made to the city, but I’m very disappointed (with the announcement),” he said.
“I find it insulting that a city this size can’t secure funding for a 20,000 seat stadium — I’m disappointed we can’t deliver this for the community.
“That upgrade is going to cost hardly anything — it’s just not good enough.
“We don’t need a BandAid, this business community contributes a lot to the state economy and we deserve a (larger) stadium and we need the government to cough up the funds.”
Mr Antonio said he appreciated the announcement, but said he found the limited size of the upgrade “concerning”.
“The upgrade is absolutely necessary, I would hope that there would be more permanent seating,” he said.
“The TSG has played a big role in our history and I’m a bit concerned about the timing considering Browne Park is getting their upgrade by 2025.
“We do have a good working relationship with Stirling Hinchliffe — he’s yet to come to town to tell the official story.
“I’m looking forward to have those discussions to make sure we get the best outcome for the Olympic Games. We’ll be advocating for it to be brought forward, I’ll be bringing that to his attention.”