Olympic swimmers could be racing in a new pool above Brisbane’s Roma Street railway station in 2032, according to planning documents released this February and comments by Queensland’s premier.
The $2 billion Brisbane Live entertainment centre, which was a market-led proposals that first emerged in 2016. In discussing the long-mooted proposal, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told local media, “Brisbane Live is one of those infrastructure projects that could be used for a 2032 Olympics as well. It could be used possibly for the swimming.”
The International Olympic Committee announced on 25 February that Brisbane is the prefered host for the 2032 games.
Architecture firms Archipelago, Woods Bagot and Populous have prepared a concept design for the Roma Station precinct, included in a proposed development scheme document published by the Cross River Rail Delivery Authority.
The proposal outlines how the development of a major sport, recreation and entertainment facility would besome a centrepiece for the wider precinct that would create an attractive and human-scale interface with Roma Street and Albert Street.
The design team note in a statement, “Our design response creatively unites the disparate topographies of these key CBD destinations in providing an Emma Miller Place design as the arrival forecourt for Brisbane Live and a civic gathering destination with its own distinctive but complementary identity.
“In emphasizing its current and historic importance as a workers gathering place the design integrates equitable and cycle access and hostile vehicle management throughout the precinct whilst concurrently delivering rich subtropical shade and catering for event activation, security screening and crowd management.”
The government has not said how long negotiations with the proponent are likely to go for.
