Myth: Brisbane’s Stadium Needs Should be Compared to Perth’s Optus Stadium

Another prevalent myth in the media at present is that Brisbane should follow Perth’s example and build a world-class stadium like Optus Stadium, claiming this will solve all our challenges and elevate our city to new heights. While Optus Stadium is undoubtedly a modern facility, comparing it to a proposed stadium at Victoria Park ignores critical differences between the two cities, the development models, and the contexts in which these stadiums are built.

1. Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) Are Not a Silver Bullet

Optus Stadium in Perth was funded through a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), where private investors collaborated with the government to finance and manage the project. While PPPs can reduce initial government expenditure, they often come with long-term financial obligations, such as revenue-sharing agreements and maintenance costs. Brisbane would face significant risks in relying on a PPP model, especially when the stadium is planned for a challenging site like Victoria Park.

Additionally, Perth’s stadium benefitted from being constructed on a flat, ex-industrial brownfield site, a much less complex and costly location compared to the hilly, heritage-listed green space of Victoria Park. Building a stadium on uneven terrain like Victoria Park would require extensive excavation and earthworks, driving costs far higher than those incurred in Perth’s project.

2. Green Space: Perth vs. Brisbane

Perth boasts 400 hectares of inner-city green space, including iconic areas like Kings Park, one of the largest urban parks in the world. Crucially, Perth’s green spaces are protected in perpetuity by an Act of Parliament, ensuring that these natural assets remain untouched by development.

In contrast, Brisbane has just 150 hectares of inner-city green space, far less per capita than Perth. Despite this scarcity, there are proposals to carve out a significant portion of Victoria Park for a stadium. Perth demonstrated that preserving green space is possible even when building a new stadium - Optus Stadium was constructed on an ex-industrial site, not a protected park. Brisbane deserves the same commitment to protecting its green spaces.

3. A Unique Park vs. a Generic Venue

Victoria Park / Barrambin is a culturally significant, heritage-listed green space that cannot be compared to Perth’s chosen site. It is a vital hub for biodiversity, community recreation, and cultural heritage, with deep ties to Brisbane’s First Nations peoples. Optus Stadium was built on a degraded brownfield site that lacked these layers of significance.

Turning Victoria Park into a stadium not only sacrifices a cherished green space but disregards its historical and cultural value. Brisbane doesn’t need to destroy its identity to compete with Perth or any other city.

The comparison between Brisbane and Perth falls apart under scrutiny. Perth protected its inner-city green spaces and chose a flat, ex-industrial site for Optus Stadium. Brisbane has far less green space, and destroying Victoria Park for a stadium would be a short-sighted decision that ignores the city’s long-term needs. There is no real comparison between Brisbane and Perth except that Taylor Swift didn’t perform her 2024 Era’s Tour in Perth either, despite the city having such a large stadium!