As it happened: Brisbane on Monday, March 18

Former lord mayor Graham Quirk, who led the 60-day review of 2032 Olympic Games venues for Brisbane, says the Gabba will reach the end of its life by 2030.

Watch him address that below. Quirk’s full press conference has been posted earlier in the blog.

The 60-day review of venues for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been handed to the Miles government.

As expected, former Liberal lord mayor Graham Quirk and his review panel recommend the $2.7 billion rebuild of the Gabba not proceed. We’ll expand later on the reasons why.

The review instead recommends the government build a new stadium at Victoria Park with 50,000 seats for the Games, and more to be added later for the AFL and cricket. And, as Brisbane Times revealed on Sunday, the alternative stadium would come at a cost of around $3.4 billion – $700 million more than the government tipped for the Gabba.

Having met with 130 stakeholder groups, and inspected 28 sites, the review team expands on its findings in the 80-page report and makes 27 recommendations to the government.

“It is expected not everyone will agree with the findings of this review and community debate will continue,” the review team state.

“However, it is imperative that projects that have been recommended by the review panel can go ahead with confidence and that all focus is on delivering much needed legacy sporting venues for the Queensland community and a Games that Queensland and Australia can be proud of, and benefit from, for decades to come.”

Opposition Leader David Crisafulli admitted he had not read Graham Quirk’s report this morning, but told 4BC Radio that Queenslanders wanted new rail and road infrastructure over new Olympic stadiums.

“It’s increasingly becoming more and more frustrating for Queensland,” Crisafulli said of the Olympics.

He said the state needed an independent infrastructure delivery authority.

“It’s been nearly 1000 days since we were awarded the Games and the government has done absolutely nothing apart from create a sea of discontent among the people.

“If you’re asking if my priority is sporting stadiums, the answer is ‘no’. My priority is generational infrastructure.”

Premier Steven Miles has sensationally ruled out building a new 55,000-seat Olympic stadium at Victoria Park, rejecting the key recommendation of the Graham Quirk review he commissioned.

“When Queenslanders are struggling with housing and other costs I cannot justify to them spending $3.4 billion on a new stadium,” Miles told reporters while standing outside Suncorp Stadium this afternoon.

“I ordered this review because I had heard from Queenslanders that $2.7 billion at the Gabba was too much. So I know that for Queenslanders $3.4 billion at Victoria Park will be too much. So I am ruling that out.”

Read more about Miles’ decision here.

A final word from Campbell Newman on the proposal for a stadium at Victoria Park ...

“The last thing people want right now is $3.4 billion spent on a stadium,” Newman told 4BC Radio.

“If we want to have a successful Olympics, let’s work to that, let’s use the existing facilities. That’s what the IOC [International Olympic Committee] were told, that’s what they get.

“I would like to continue to support these Games, but that’s the basis that it has my personal support.”