‘For our community’: landmark funding for Olympic venues

Sunshine Coast Council

Three Sunshine Coast sporting venues have today (May 17, 2024) been given the green light to progress to tender following a funding commitment of almost $300 million by the Queensland and Australian governments.

The funding signals the largest ever investment in community sporting infrastructure on the Sunshine Coast.

A $148 million Sunshine Coast Stadium expansion, a $142 million new Indoor Sports Centre in Kawana and a $14 million Mountain Bike Centre at Parklands are on track to be delivered in 2027, with construction of the Sunshine Coast Stadium Expansion planned to start later this year.

Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli said funding for the three sporting venues would be a game-changer for the region and a direct and welcome result of our role as Co-Host City of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Today’s funding announcement follows years of research and planning and will deliver lasting economic and social benefits before, during and after hosting the Games,” Mayor Natoli said.

“The validation process the projects went through, including independent panel reviews, was extensive and demonstrated the importance of these venues for our region.

“These venues will provide high-quality competition and training facilities for our local athletes, increase participation in sports and recreation across the region, and will have capacity to host major sporting events.

“That, in turn, attracts more tourism dollars which benefits our local businesses and their staff.

“I want to be very clear – these venues are being built for our community.

“They will provide a place to train, to play, to watch our favourite teams and to cheer on our kids from the sidelines.

“Importantly, these venues will be leading-edge in accessibility to accommodate the many para-sports, athletes and spectators in our region.”

Mayor Natoli acknowledged Queensland and Australian government support was critical for venues of this size, boasting state-of-the-art facilities and accessibility, to be delivered on the Sunshine Coast.

“With eight years to go to Brisbane 2032, I am thrilled that we are already seeing amazing outcomes for our community, and we will continue to work very hard to maximise every opportunity afforded to the Sunshine Coast as a result of the games,” Mayor Natoli said.

“We’ve waited a very long time for the Sunshine Coast Stadium to be expanded. Construction of this venue is on track to start later this year, creating an estimated 650 jobs.”

The planning and design phase of the Sunshine Coast Indoor Sports Centre and Mountain Bike Centre will continue to progress, with construction of those two venues proposed to start in 2025 and 2026, respectively.

The majority of capital funding for the three venues will come from the Queensland and Australian governments, with Sunshine Coast Council set to assume ownership and management of these venues once complete.