An visionary proposal has been launched to reimagine Brisbane’s Northshore as a vibrant new precinct supporting housing, business, recreation, tourism and a Games-ready sports and entertainment stadium, under a transformative scheme titled ‘Northshore Vision 2050’.
The bold vision comes as Australia celebrates its stellar performance at Paris 2024 and looks ahead to the Brisbane 2032 Games.
The scheme is the brainchild of the Brisbane Design Alliance, a team of specialist designers in architecture, engineering and planning that unites the local and global expertise of Buchan, HKS, NRA Collaborative, Aurecon and Nikken Sekkei.
HKS director Andrew Colling said ‘Northshore Vision 2050’ leverages under-utilised industrial land to realise the potential of the Brisbane River and deliver a valuable social and economic legacy for South East Queensland – one that gives back to the community.
“The vision of the Brisbane Design Alliance is to make Brisbane an even greater city, now and into the future,” said Colling. “Our Northshore scheme responds to projected population growth over the next 25 years, providing a mixed-use precinct unmatched in Queensland, located on the shores of our famous river and supported by a private finance model that will minimise cost to the State.”
The scheme is underpinned by the creation of a mixed-use urban renewal zone that will add significant value to the fabric of Brisbane as a city and gateway to South East Queensland.
Northshore Vision 2050 proposes a dramatic, world-class 60,000-seat stadium with an adjacent aquatic centre, wave pool, and retail and hospitality zone. Pedestrian promenades extending east and west maximise access to the river, opening up the precinct as a new tourism destination that provides a unique riverfront experience and is accessible by ferry.
Newly created public open spaces, elevated gardens, recreational canals and cultural venues acknowledge the rich First Nations history of the site and reinstate the pre-colonial profiles of the river edge.
Buchan principal Phil Schoutrop said the scheme would be staged to create a dynamic, mixed-use precinct that will respond to the rapidly changing needs of Brisbane.
“Stage One would establish a sports and entertainment precinct that accommodates the 2032 Olympics. It includes the stadium, warm-up facilities, and a 2,500 apartment athletes’ village, alongside hotel, restaurant and leisure amenities,” Schoutrop explained. “This combination of uses will allow for activation every day of the year, with the stadium complementing a much broader community offer.”
Subsequent stages over the following 15 years would integrate an additional 12,000 residential apartments and townhouses; enterprise, innovation and cultural zones; and a specialist high performance sports science and sports medicine zone.
A central park would provide public green open space. An elevated, landscaped walkway or ‘highline’ would connect the precinct to Doomben Station while a green pedestrian bridge over the river would link the site to the suburb of Bulimba.
Colling said the scheme addresses the challenges of the city’s existing sports infrastructure.
“We love the Gabba and its history, but its potential will always be constrained by its narrow site,” said Colling. “A new, world-class stadium at Northshore can be purpose-built for cricket and Aussie Rules while creating a unique Brisbane 2032 Olympics experience and venue to be proud of. Having direct connection to the river and views from inside the stadium back to the CBD will showcase our city’s natural beauty, river setting and sub-tropical climate to the world.”
“‘Northshore Vision 2050’ will provide the legacy Brisbane deserves, creating sporting, community, transport, leisure, cultural and commercial infrastructure as an investment in Brisbane’s long term economic, environmental and social sustainability,” added Colling.
Schoutrop pointed to the successful legacy of Olympic and Paralympic Games-driven urban regeneration at Stratford in the UK.
“London used the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to turn industrial land in the city’s east into a precinct that is now a thriving place to live and work, with enviable sports and wellness facilities. We can do the same in Brisbane. Our design-led scheme optimises land use and investment to make the most of this exciting period of growth and opportunity.”
Opinion Note
This proposal aligns with a previous BrisbaneDevelopment.com article that advocated for Northshore Hamilton as the site for Brisbane’s Olympic stadium. However, instead of incorporating the crucial Doomben rail line extension suggested in the original, this proposal opts for a ‘highline’ walkway.
While the walkway may be a creative solution, the distance involved could make it impractical for many stadium visitors. A short spur line extension would be a more cost-effective and practical alternative, enhancing accessibility while ensuring that the area is not overly reliant on bus-only transit and is better prepared for future growth. That said, the Northshore Vision 2050 stands out as the most compelling, low cost and supported solution for Brisbane’s Olympic future while opening up new connections to the Bulimba Barracks development. The previous Northshore Olympic Stadium article can be viewed here.
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What an exceptional option for Brisbane, that centralises a stadium where it is needed (Nathan? Are they kidding?), funding by private entities will see it realised without all the rubbish from state government. It will be the jewel in the crown and a place for Brisbane to be proud that it has finally moved on from the country town it has been and a shining example of what can be done with a smattering of vision and belief that better can be done. Love the design, love the location, love the connectivity, love the green bridge and access to Doomben station but most of all, love that the vision can come together and raise Brisbane’s profile as a world class city. Well done guys!
It certainly looks cool, but it’s not central by any means (though certainly closer than Nathan).
I’m also not sure that the connectivity is that great. It’s 15 minutes’ walk to Doomben, and that train line will need to be upgraded for sure.
The Labor Qld Government has already given this the kiss of death, but even if the LNP win power at the next election it’s probably not liking the sacrifices this plan needs to get off the ground.
Giving away so much land to a developer (especially land earmarked for social housing) seems too high a cost, and then there’s the achilles heel for this site, the costs to build public transport.
There’s plenty of comments from the previous Brisbane Development article, but in summary a new rail spur from the Doomben line (making the stadium a 20 minute commute by train, roughly the same time it takes by CityCat) doesn’t provide a very good solution. Bus priority lanes along Kingsford Smith Dr just push the bottlenecks further towards the city. I doubt any local or state government will want to weather these costs, given the low cost-to-benefit ratio. There are other reasonable proposals for alternate sites to consider.
Unless this site proposes a half-baked public transport option (leaving 40 to 60 thousand odd private cars to clog up the Gateway Motorway) the North Shore just won’t be a cost-feasible location.
I think you’re right in your assessment of what governments of both sides will think about this: giving away heaps of land and having to provide a lot more public transport.
Looks nice though.
The only thing which could make this more perfect is if the old Brisbane Subway idea was repurposed to support this project with a world-class, REAL, automated metro system. Moving in and out of the precinct would be a breeze, and would provide fantastic legacy to the many thousands of residents who would live there in the years after as apartments come online. Conveniently, it links up with the highest density Brisbane suburbs and precincts, which are also earmarked for future population growth.
keep dreaming under these governments it will never be built this is why Brisbane will be that boring city that is thanks to these guys. they replace it with some boring rubbish watch this
The saddest thing about this vision is that despite being incredibly bold and certainly ticking all the boxes to be considered Iconic, there is simply no will or boldness from the people in their “Tower of Power” to ever make this (or allow it) to happen! Such a prime parcel of riverfront land deserves a development like this! Unfortunately, Brisbane is seemingly cursed to be stuck as the Big (ORDINARY) country town.
The big events of the past, ie: the ’82 Comm Games and Expo 88 are nothing but flashes in the pan. The 2032 Olympic Games will define Brisbane for the next 100 years and I and many others can already sense these coming games will be a gross let down and utterly underwhelming – Soley due to the dismissive and complacent leadership of certain people in power, who lack any serious bold vision for Brisbane’s future!
I find the design inspiring, but it is in the wrong location! Victoria Park is the best location for a world class stadium in Brisbane. All of the best stadiums in Australia are within walking distance to the city. I would like to see this same team come up with a concept for Vic. Park. The problems with this concept is that as much as they say it comes at no cost to the tax payer, there is a cost. Who is going to fund the public transport system that has enough capacity to transport 60k people out of Hamilton. Also what is the value of 140 Hectares that close to the city that will be gifted to the developer? It doesn’t really stack up in my opinion.
I agree with the transport issues. Though I don’t consider Victoria Park walking distance of the city, especially with Spring Hill in the way (emphasis on the word hill).
I’d love to see this at Victoria Park as well -it’s the only location that can be serviced by the Metro line and (if they add it by bridging the ICB) a train station with dual tracks. Plus both Metro and trains run direct to Roma St; it’s literally the next stop. Considering that all trains run to the city, this guarantees fast access by public transport regardless of where you live.
Sadly, this probably won’t be feasible -being a private/ public partnership, the developers will want a lot more of Vic Park to build on. Just like this article, they’re going to want extra land to build hotels and residential high-rises in order to recover the costs over the long term.
There was massive public back-lash with the previous proposal, which required sacrificing a modest 11% of Vic Park land for a new stadium footprint. No one’s going to tolerate giving more public land to “greedy developers.”
So if anything’s to be built at Vic Park, it’s going to be using public money. Which will likely result in a budget-cut-price stadium devoid of character.
A Victoria Park stadium, according to Quirk’s report, was estimated at 12-13% of the park however it this didn’t include the land required for the bridges, corridors, access roads nor the land required for a nearby Olympic sized warm up track. It did not take account of the impact on the park in the inevitable, massive earthworks required across a hilly and challenging terrain. The overall impact of a stadium build in Vic Park would be destructive to a large sector of a park, a park which is already half its original size. The proposal ignored the obvious issues associated with building a massive stadium next to the Royal Brisbane Hospital and failed to take into account heritage listed areas/sites. To anyone with knowledge of the park and its surrounds the whole concept of building a stadium in Victoria Park is odd.
Olive, the points you make are valid. But easily negotiated with sensible planning.
The land bridges aren’t taking any land away from Victoria Park. If anything, they’re adding public access to link Victoria Park to Gregory Tce Park.
The majority of the access roads and corridors are temporary -easily removed once construction is finished.
The hilly terrain can be negated – either build on a flat stretch of land (such as the area next to Gilchrist Ave) or build an elevated stadium next to the adjacent hilly areas. An elevated stadium would also allow back-of-facilities rooms to be located beneath the stadium, and an access road coming off the ICB. Land works are part of any site, and Victoria Park isn’t that much of a ‘challenging terrain.’
The Exhibition grounds can be used for the warmup area: It’s closer than the previously proposed Raymond Park (set aside as a warmup track for the Gabba stadium.) If not, then a warmup track can be temporary, and removed once the games are over.
I’m not sure how you get to “a park which is already half its original size” after you quoted a 12-13% land use from the Quirk report. I’d argue maximising the existing park space use is a great trade-off: which you can achieve with the land bridge over the ICB to provide a better connection between the two parks.
The RBH issue would depend on where the stadium is located. If it’s placed in the far south-west corner as per the concept plans, the RBH issue is mitigated. Really this is only an issue if the stadium is placed right in the North-East corner.
I’d like to know more about any heritage concerns: there’s no heritage listed buildings. And the whole park is a former golf course. None of the heritage issues have affected the council’s (current) plans to build lakes/ walkways/ feature play areas…..
While it looks flashy (as is the case with most concept drawings) the problem still remains it will be at the terminus of public transport routes and it’s diffilcult to see how 60,000 people will be able to to transported away from the venue. Shuttle buses are a poor option, CityCats won’t be frequent enough and even an upgraded Doomben line will be limited by the amount of rollingstock that can be moved in and out along an indirect rail corridor.
The only way it could work long-term is with a direct subway (as has been floated on this site in the past). But there is way way that could be built in the next 8 years time.
A more central site is the only thing that makes sense as little transport upgrades are necessary. Comments from Crisafulli recently about multiple levels of government coming together to come up ith the best solution are pointing towards Vic Park.
I heard in an interview that under the IOC rules the stadium has to be owned by the Government state/federal. So that is the reason that Miles is not sold on this proposal. I thought the IOC wanted things to be cheaper for host cities. I don’t understand???
I find the basic concept good but is that the best location? Under a junction of two motorways?
Have you ever watched a telecast of tennis from the Sydney Olympic Tennis Centre? The drone of road noise is a constant annoyance to the point of turning the sound down. I can see this concept with the same issue.
Also the elephant in the room would be the flood risk of such a site, has anything in the design take into consideration flood mitigation .
Also a design consideration could be to lower the playing surface or raising the stands so temporary seating could be installed to increase the multi functionality of the arena.
I do agree that we need another stadium, a city of Brisbane’s size and it only has 1 oval stadium? Bazaar.
I think this plan is the perfect solution. But, with Stephen Miles and his goons currently running the show, it’ll sadly never happen.
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