Everything You Need To Know About Brisbane’s New Victoria Park Precinct

Back in March, we caught wind of the news surrounding the new Brisbane Stadium as one part of the wider Victoria Park Precinct development. Now, the Queensland Government has just dropped the first official look at the draft plans for the swish new Victoria Park Precinct. Here's everything you need to know.

So, What Is The Plan?

The Victoria Park Precinct Legacy Plan outlines a vision that, according to what was recently released, is in both response to necessary infrastructure for hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games and a vision that aims to build Brisbane and South East Queensland as a global destination for world-class events and a major public community space for locals.

It includes plans for Brisbane Stadium, the new National Acquatic Centre, upgrades to Brisbane Showgrounds including the Brisbane Athletes Village, and transport improvements for accessbility. It also states that around two-thirds of Victoria Park will remain as green spaces open to the public with five key landscape areas in the works: wetlands with restored waterways, shaded forest areas, ridgelines with views and walking paths, community gateways to connect nearby neighbourhoods and venue commons that can be used for events or recreational activities. 

Brisbane Stadium

Image credit: Brisbane Stadium | COX Architecture

The new Brisbane Stadium is replacing the Gabba. It's slated to seat up to 63,000 people and extend to 70,0000 for concerts, rivaling some of the country's biggest sporting stadiums like the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Internationally renowned architecutre firms COX and Hassell are leading the charge on the design in consultation with Indigenious-owned design agency Blaklash with plans to make the stadium home to AFL, cricket, major entertainment events and global live music. There are mention of hosptiality options that are yet to be determined and several off-shoot event spaces and public amenities.

National Aquatic Centre

Image credit: Queensland Government | Website

This is a biggie. The National Aquatic Centre (NAC) is a multi-story centre projected to be a hub for aquatic sports including swimming, artistic swimming, water polo, diving and community use. They're giving the heritage-listed Centenary Pool a glow-up with an open design and plenty of greenery.

Brisbane Showgrounds

Image credit: Queensland Government | Website

There are a few moving parts to the Brisbane Showground upgrades. We've got the Brisbane Athletes Village, set to host 10,000+ athletes and officials for the Olympic Games and 5,000+ for the Paralympic Games. Post-2032, these will be converted to permentant residental housing.

We've also got upgrades to the Main Arena featuring 20,000 seats, and accessbility improvements to the new Machinery Hill stand/heritage stand.

Transport

Image credit: Queensland Government | Website

A major part of the Victoria Park Precinct Plan is all about accessbility and transport. The plan outlines new public transport connections extending from the Sunshine Coast throught to the Gold Coast, enhancements to Bruce Highway, and expanding walking and cycling paths connecting key destinations like Roma Street and Fortitude Valley stations to Victoria Park.

It's also mentioned there may be a new bridge connection crossing the Inner City Bypass and rail corridor.

What's The Timeline?

Image credit: Queensland Government | Website

The timeline is broken up into four phases: Pre-2032 Games Mode, 2032 Games, Post-Games and Legacy Development Mode. We're at the, 'have your say' part, starting now and going until September 2026 of the Pre-Games Mode. You can fill out the online survey to have your two cents before it closes on 27 September over here.

We've passed two steps already in this first phase—commencing the master planning in September 2025 and starting construction on Brisbane Stadium in June 2026. And we've got two more stages to go in this phase. 2027 is when the final Legacy Plan will be released and pre-Games construction will be completed in 2031.

The second phase is the Games itself, July to September 2032. Then, we enter the third phase in late-2031 when the bulk of the plan takes place: developments for Brisbane Stadium, the National Aquatic Centre, Brisbane Athletes Village and parkland kicks off.

The final phrase from 2034 and beyond is when the precinct's legacy vision is delivered.

That's all for now, folks. If you haven't already, catch up on more big news happening across Brisbane:

• Everything You Need To Know About Brisbane Stadium
• The Lowdown On Brisbane Airport's $5 Billion Transformation
• How Teneriffe Is Coming Brisbane's Wellness Capital With A $1.5 Billion Precinct

Leading image credit: Queensland Government | Website