The road is clearing in Australia for the Brisbane 2032 Games. It is now even wider than ever. The federal government and the Queensland state government announced at the end of last week that they had reached an agreement to split the funding for the construction or renovation of the Olympic and Paralympic venues into two almost equal parts. The announcement came from the top of the State, the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offering himself a return trip to Brisbane to make the news official. The agreement between the two authorities is estimated at 7 billion Australian dollars, or about 4.8 billion dollars at current prices. The federal government will be in charge of the construction of an indoor complex to host the swimming and water polo events. It will be built at Roma Street, the city’s main public transport hub. Canberra will also be in charge of renovating several other competition venues. The Queensland government, for its part, will put its hand in its pocket for the most complex and controversial project, the demolition and reconstruction of the Gabba, the cricket stadium, which will be the main venue for the Brisbane 2032 Games. The budget for the project is A$2.7 billion (US$1.85 billion). The project will add 8,000 seats to increase the stadium’s capacity to 50,000, and incorporate a new subway station in the area. Construction is expected to begin in 2026.
