The Gabba Entertainment Precinct will deliver a 17,000-seat arena and a mixed-use entertainment and housing precinct across two sites, with a combined area of nine hectares, located next to and including the current Gabba Stadium site.
The project is being procured as a Public-Private Partnership, with the successful proponent to be responsible for delivering both the arena and mixed-use precinct.
The first site to be delivered — Gabba West — will see the construction of a 17,000-seat arena capable of holding concerts, sporting events, and corporate shows. The Arena site is next to the Woolloongabba Station currently being constructed as part of the Cross River Rail project.
The arena is not expected to be required for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Queensland Government will confirm the full venue list for the 2032 Games in 2026.
The second site — Gabba East — comprises the 5.75-hectare site of the current Gabba Stadium. Following the completion of the 2032 Games, the stadium will be decommissioned and demolished, and the successful proponent will deliver a mixed-use housing, hospitality, retail, and commercial precinct on the site.
A new Brisbane arena - referred to as Brisbane Live - was first proposed in 2018 by the Queensland Government and AEG Ogden - in an Early Operator Engagement agreement - to be delivered over the site of the Roma Street Cross River Rail Station.
The previous Queensland Government’s March 2024 Sport Venue Review recommended the arena site be moved to a location adjacent to the new Roma Street station and referred to the project as the Brisbane Arena.
Following their election in October 2024, the current Queensland Government commissioned the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority to complete a 100 Day Review of games infrastructure which recommended the new Woolloongabba Train Station on the Gabba West site as the preferred location for a new arena. The Woolloongabba Train Station is also being delivered under the Cross River Rail project.
Key Dates
| Oct 2025 | EOIs Open |
| Jan 2026 | EOIs Close |
| 2026 | RFP Open |
| Sep 2026 | RFP Open |
| 2027 | Expected Contract Award |
| 2027 | Expected Construction Commencement |
| 2031 | Expected Construction Completion |
Funding contributions
| Federal Government |
Procurement
| Procuring Agency: | Department of State Development, Infrastructure and Planning |
| Procurement note: | The project is being delivered as a Public-Private Partnership project with the successful proponent required to finance, design, construct, maintain and operate the Arena and finance, master-plan and develop the mixed-use precinct. |
PROJECT HISTORY
| May 2018 | The Cross River Rail Delivery Authority commenced the development of the Business Case in conjunction with Building Queensland and AEG Ogden through an Operator Early Engagement agreement. |
| Jun 2018 | In its 2018-19 Budget, the Queensland Government provided $5 million toward developing a business case for the project. |
| Jul 2019 | The Queensland Government declared a new Priority Development Area (PDA) around the Roma Street Cross River Rail station, encompassing the Brisbane Live precinct. The 32-hectare PDA will fast-track the development and delivery of the new underground Cross River Rail (CRR) station while also creating a specialised development scheme for the entire precinct. |
| Dec 2019 | The Queensland Government announced a market sounding exercise for the delivery of Brisbane Live. |
| Dec 2019 | Demolition of the Brisbane Transit Centre commenced, to make way for the construction of the Roma Street Interchange and the Brisbane Live precinct. |
| Feb 2023 | The Federal Government announced $2.5 billion funding for the project. This commitment is part of the Federal and Queensland Governments funding agreement for the development of 18 new or upgraded venues for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics and Paralympic Games. |
| Mar 2024 | The Queensland Government has accepted the recommendation from the Sports Venue Review to move the site of Brisbane Arena to a new location within Roma St Parklands. The new site will not be built over the Roma Street Station currently being delivered under the Cross River Rail project. |
| May 2024 | The 2024-25 Federal Budget reaffirmed the Government's commitment to providing $2.5 billion towards the Brisbane Arena to support the delivery of the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games. |
| Mar 2025 | The Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority's 100 Day Review recommended the new Woolloongabba Train Station site as the preferred location for a new arena. The Government accepted the recommendation and announced that the project would not be required for the 2032 Games. |
| Mar 2025 | The 2025-26 Federal Budget reaffirmed the Government's commitment to providing $2.5 billion towards the Brisbane Arena to support the delivery of the Brisbane 2032 Games. |
| Jul 2025 | The Federal and Queensland Governments announced an updated intergovernmental funding agreement for the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, further confirming that the arena was not required as part of the 2032 Games venue program. It is unclear how the project's funding will continue to be structured. |
| Oct 2025 | Expressions of Interest to deliver the project opened. |
2032 Delivery Plan
100 Day Review
100 Day review - Government Response
