Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate has put a call out to global investors to join a public-private partnership to deliver the Gold Coast Arena ahead of the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games.
The 12,000-seat enclosed arena would replace a large carpark opposite Australia Fair shopping centre at Carey Park, Southport.
“We are about to ignite a global investment wave with the opportunity for investors to partner on a legacy 12,000-plus capacity sports and entertainment arena,” Mayor Tom Tate said.
“We will be seeking expressions of interest from major Australian and international consortia to enter a public-private partnership to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the landmark venue.
“This is an early call to global investors to get ready for one of the most exciting, city-shaping opportunities in the Asia-Pacific.”
It comes hot on the heels of news that the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority (GIICA) has launched an expressions-of-interest campaign for a delivery partner to program manage the delivery of 2032 Games venues infrastructure program.
Registrations of interest have also opened for the design, construction and delivery of the 17 new and upgraded venues for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The ROI will close in two weeks. Organisations can apply through QTenders or the GIICA website.
The EOI for a GIICA Delivery Partner will also close in two weeks. The GIICA aims to have the successful applicant in place by the end of 2025.
In May, the council reported the budget estimate for the GC Arena to be $500 million and that the freehold land would be acquired from the state at a nominal cost.
The construction cost of the arena is expected to be $480 million. It is to be completed in the 2029-30 financial year.
The venues for the Games were finalised in March, which included locking in the new 63,000-seat Brisbane stadium at Victoria Park as well as the Gold Coast Arena within the 2032 Delivery Plan.
Other venues, transport and athletes villages will be built or upgraded across South-East Queensland and up to Cairns to cater for the influx of visitors.
The Royal Pines Resort has been earmarked as the home to the Gold Coast Athlete Village, and will include a training facility and masterplanned residential component in a mix of housing types.
Invest Gold Coast chair Will Hodgman said the arena would be operated on a long-term basis
“We want to give investors the confidence and delivery certainty they need to get behind this project,” Hodgman said.
“We are not prescribing the scope or terms, rather we’re inviting the international market to help shape this project with world-class expertise and ideas.
“What we are making clear today is that this opportunity is real, it is coming and the Gold Coast market is ripe for investment.
“The demand for a venue like the Gold Coast Arena has never been higher with the city’s youth under-20 population forecast to grow 38 per cent by 2041.”
The arena construction is forecast to generate up to $2 billion in economic output, support more than 6500 jobs and inject about $700 million into the regional economy.
Invest Gold Coast, the city’s dedicated investment and economic development agency, will lead the EOI process and said it was seeking innovative, market-led proposals.
