I was sitting in a cafe near Victoria Park the other morning, sipping on an energy drink and watching the borehole rigs go to work. It really hit me then, the “Green and Gold Runway” isn’t just a marketing slogan anymore. It is actually happening. With construction and design phases now kicking off right across the state, Queensland is shifting gears to become a world class sporting hub.
Whether you are a local trying to figure out if your morning commute is about to be cooked, or a visitor planning a trip for the big show, you need the real story. This is my living roadmap to the 17 core Brisbane 2032 Olympic Venues currently being delivered. I’ll be keeping this updated as the dust settles and the grandstands go up.
The Traffic Light Status System
To make sense of the chaos, I have sorted every project by where it actually stands today. No jargon, just the facts for you.
- Ready to Go: These spots are already top notch or just need a bit of a spruce up to be Games ready.
- Underway: The high-vis is out. You’ll see fences, drilling, or active crews on site right now.
- Planning Phase: Still on the drawing board. Expect design competitions and plenty of community meetings.
A quick update before we get into the venues: this week gave us the first real taste of Games fever outside the construction zone. The official Brisbane 2032 emblem, a stylised pink cockatoo shaped like Queensland, was meant to be unveiled at a community event in South Bank on Monday night, except the organising committee’s own YouTube channel leaked it early on Friday. Cue a hastily arranged press conference to explain the stuff up before the real reveal even happened. Officials are calling the leak a pleasant surprise and say the reaction has been positive, make of that what you will. Either way, it is the first bit of Games branding most Queenslanders have actually seen, and a reminder that 2032 is becoming real in ways beyond just construction fences.
I’m still sad it wasn’t an ibis bird.
Brisbane Central Cluster: The Heart of the Games
This is where the heavy lifting is happening. If you are in the city, you won’t be able to miss the transformation of these Brisbane 2032 Olympic Venues.
Brisbane Stadium at Victoria Park
Status: Underway
Update, September 2026: The fences are properly up now. GIICA took full possession of the site on 1 September, and BMD, a Queensland family owned construction outfit, has moved in to run the early works program, bulk earthworks, haul roads, stormwater drains and a logistics plaza, before the real build starts.
The federal environmental clearance came through back in May (a not a controlled action decision, for anyone tracking the paperwork), so there’s nothing standing between this project and the shovels now. Worth knowing too, the state pushed changes through in February converting the land from a council administered trust into freehold tenure for the build.
That hasn’t gone down quietly, there was a tent embassy on site earlier in the year before it was cleared in May. On a lighter note, the precinct wide legacy masterplan is open for public feedback until 27 September, so if you’ve got thoughts on how Victoria Park should look after the Games, now’s the time to say so.
Update, October 2026: That consultation window has now closed, GIICA pulled in submissions through to 27 September and is working through the feedback now. The final legacy plan is not due out until 2027, so there is a fair wait before we know what actually made the cut. In the meantime the work has not slowed, GIICA’s latest construction notice has crews through October still building haul roads and stockpile sites, clearing vegetation, pulling down redundant infrastructure, and putting up permanent site fencing.
Standard early works stuff, but it means Gilchrist Avenue and the surrounding streets stay a building site for a while yet. Worth remembering too, the stadium is being built for up to 63,000 for sport and as many as 70,000 for concerts, so this is not a small job.
If you want the fuller picture of what is planned for the park itself, I have gone into more depth in From Fairways to Front Row: The Victoria Park Olympic Plans.
National Aquatic Centre at Spring Hill
Status: Underway
Update, September 2026: Site possession happened here too, GIICA took control of the Centenary Pool complex on 1 September, the same day as the stadium side of the park. Actual construction isn’t due to start until 2027, but the site is closed off and prep work is under way, so this one’s earned its move up from Planning Phase.
Brisbane Showgrounds at Bowen Hills
Status: Ready to Go (Upgrades Pending) The home of the Ekka is getting a 20,000 seat arena upgrade. It is also where the main Athlete Village will be, housing over 10,000 legends.
- Sports: Football.
- Note: This area is already a construction zone with the Cross River Rail, so expect the Bowen Hills precinct to look very different by 2032.
Queensland Tennis Centre at Tennyson
Status: Planning Phase Pat Rafter Arena is already a world beater, but they are adding more show courts and better access for fans with a disability.
The Chandler Sports Precinct: Aquatic Centre, BMX Track and the New Para Sport Facility
Status: Planning Phase Three more of the 17 venues, plus a general precinct upgrade, are all happening in the one spot. Out at the Sleeman Sports Complex in Chandler, the same site that already hosts the Anna Meares Velodrome I covered earlier, GIICA has a $257 million package going into the Brisbane Aquatic Centre, the Brisbane SX International BMX Centre and a brand new Para Sport Facility.
- Sports: Swimming, BMX, plus a dedicated base for Para sport across the precinct.
- The Detail: The Aquatic Centre already has four pools, a 50 metre indoor Olympic pool, a 50 metre outdoor Olympic pool, a 25 metre diving pool and a 25 metre lap pool, with grandstand seating for 4,300, and it is being redeveloped into a world class indoor swimming venue to support the main show at the new National Aquatic Centre in Spring Hill. The BMX side is actually done already, the Brisbane SX International BMX Centre reopened recently after a major upgrade and is Australia’s premier BMX track. The Para Sport Facility is the genuinely new addition, a purpose built base for Para athletes training and competing across the precinct.
- Local Insight: This whole precinct dates back to the 1982 Commonwealth Games and still pulls around 700,000 visits a year from clubs and high performance athletes, so the upgrade is as much about keeping a well used community hub ticking along as it is about 2032.
Brisbane International Shooting Centre at Belmont
Status: Planning Phase Out at the Belmont Shooting Complex, a venue that has been hosting shooters since 1968 and already did a round of upgrades for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, is next in line for a Games ready refresh.
- Sports: Shooting, covering rifle, pistol and shotgun disciplines.
- Local Insight: The venue already runs four international standard ranges, a 10 metre air range, two 25 metre ranges and a 50 metre range, so most of the hard infrastructure is already there. The upgrade is mainly about lifting capacity, with the plan being 2,000 temporary seats at the indoor rifle and pistol range and another 2,000 at the outdoor shotgun range.
More Brisbane 2032 Olympic Venues: The Northern Hub and Beyond
The Games aren’t just a city affair. The northside and the coast are getting some serious love.
Moreton Bay Indoor Sports Centre at Petrie
Status: Planning Phase This is a huge win for the Moreton Bay region. It’s a 10,000 seat facility at “The Mill” precinct that’ll be used for decades after the flame goes out.
- Sports: Boxing and Wheelchair Rugby.
- Local Insight: It’s right next to the USC Moreton Bay campus and Petrie station. I’ve spent a bit of time up there, and I can tell you now: do not bother looking for street parking in Petrie once this opens. The train is your only friend here.
Sunshine Coast Stadium at Kawana
Status: Planning Phase They are bumping the permanent capacity up to 10,000, with temporary seats taking it to 20,000 for the Olympic matches.
- Sports: Football.
Sunshine Coast Mountain Bike Centre at Maroochy River
Status: Planning Phase A brand new spot with international tracks inside the Parklands Conservation Park. If you love the outdoors, this will be the place to be.
Logan and the Southside Cluster
Logan is stepping up in a big way for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic Venues list, providing some of the best indoor facilities in the state.
Logan Indoor Sports Centre at Logan Central
Status: Underway
Update, September 2026: Demolition of the old Logan PCYC buildings wrapped up in April, and GIICA has since been through the site running environmental and technical investigations. Nothing dramatic for locals to see yet, but the groundwork, literally, for construction is being laid.
- Sports: Basketball.
Anna Meares Velodrome at Chandler
Status: Ready to Go This is already a world class track. It only needs some tech upgrades and extra seating for the Games. If you haven’t seen a race here, the banking on the track is steeper than it looks on TV, it’s mental.
Redland Whitewater Centre at Birkdale
Status: Planning Phase A first for Queensland. This will be a state of the art whitewater facility. It’s caused a bit of stir locally, but it’ll be a massive asset for the Redlands once it’s finished.
Regional Queensland Host Cities
The rest of the state is getting in on the action too. We aren’t just keeping the fun to the southeast corner.
Barlow Park Stadium at Cairns
Status: Underway
Update, September 2026: The next stage kicked off in August, GIICA opened the hunt for a delivery contractor, an invitation for prequalification aimed at firms with a strong Far North Queensland presence. Early works are pencilled in for mid September, once footy season wraps up. The new western grandstand alone will take permanent seating from 1,700 up to 5,000.
- Sports: Football.
- Local Insight: If you’ve ever sat through a match in the Cairns humidity, you’ll be glad to hear the new design is all about natural breeze and maximum shade. It’s the only way to survive a summer kick off up there.
Toowoomba Showgrounds at Glenvale
Status: Planning Phase The Darling Downs is set to become the premier Equestrian hub for the Games. The cool mountain air will be a nice break for the riders and the horses alike.
Rockhampton Flatwater Facility at the Fitzroy River
Status: Planning Phase This one almost slipped through the cracks of my own list, which is on me, it is officially one of the 17 venues even though the rest of the state has heard a lot more about it than Brisbane has. The existing flatwater course and Ski Gardens Precinct on the Fitzroy River is set to be upgraded for rowing, Para rowing, canoe sprint and Para canoe, with a capacity of 14,000.
- Sports: Rowing, Canoe Sprint, Para Rowing, Para Canoe.
- Local Insight: I have not made it up to Central Queensland myself, so I am going off the reports here, but the Fitzroy River already hosts school and university regattas and national rowing team training camps, so this is not exactly starting from a blank paddle.
The Reality Check: This has been the most contested call on the entire venues list. The Fitzroy River is home to crocodiles, which has made for an easy headline, and Rowing Australia initially raised doubts about whether the waterway would meet World Rowing’s technical specifications. Premier David Crisafulli has made the trip up to Rockhampton more than once this year to hold the line, and Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has had to field plenty of questions about whether a regional city with a tight accommodation market can actually cope with an Olympic crowd, a 1,200 bed athletes village is now part of the plan to help with that.
The real breakthrough came on 17 September, when World Rowing and Paddle Worldwide officially endorsed the course after an independent technical assessment, the first time the international federations have actually signed off rather than the state government just insisting it would be fine.
A Living Legacy for Queensland
This list of 17 venues is the foundation of the 2032 Games, but it is also the future of our state. From the massive scale of the Victoria Park redevelopment to the local courts in Logan, these projects are about what happens after the medals are handed out.
I’ll be updating this page regularly as construction moves from red to yellow and finally to green. Make sure you bookmark this guide for the latest site photos, parking warnings, and insider tips as we count down to July 2032.
Which of these new venues are you most excited to see finished, or are you more worried about the traffic on the M1 during the Games?
