Save Victoria Park from Destruction

Help Us Save Victoria Park from Destruction*

Save Victoria Park Inc. is a community-driven advocacy group dedicated to protecting Brisbane’s heritage-listed Victoria Park. This vital green space serves as a sanctuary for recreation, wildlife, and cultural heritage - an irreplaceable asset for future generations.

Now, its future is under serious threat.

The Fight to Protect Victoria Park: At Least One-Third of the Park, on Herston Side to Be Lost

On Tuesday 25 March 2025, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli announced his venues plan for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics. Included in this plan was the decision to build TWO massive stadiums over heritage-listed Victoria Park Barrambin. The main stadium on the Herston side of the park and a National Aquatics Centre and Precinct on the Spring Hill side of the park. These two stadiums would have a combined 87,000 seats.

After being elected based on a repeated promise that he would NOT build new stadiums (including a stadium in Victoria Park Barrambin), Mr Crisafulli has not just broken his word, he has shattered it. Not once, but twice.

Today, Victoria Park is 64 hectares in total (approximately 50 hectares on the Herston side and 14 hectares on the Spring Hill side).

According to GIICA’s 100-Day Review Report, the main stadium on the Herston side of the park is estimated to take approximately 17 hectares of heritage-listed parkland.

This means at minimum one third of the Herston side of the park would be lost to stadium development based on the figures quoted by GIICA. We believe this is a conservative, low end estimate which doesn't include addition destruction for the concourse, pathways, access roads, public transport infrastructure and the mandated Olympic warm up track. Remember, this track has to be the same dimensions as the competition track in the main stadium.

This also does not factor in the amount of heritage-listed land on the Spring Hill side of the park which would be taken by the National Aquatic Centre and Precinct as this is currently unknown due to not being a part of GIICA’s recommendations to the government. However, given that the Spring Hill side of the park is just 14 hectares, the 25,000 seat Aquatic Centre is likely to take up a significant part of this area.

The construction of these two stadiums would create an enormous amount of damage to the topography of Victoria Park Barrambin, which has barely changed in thousands of years. See below for an image of Optus stadium in Perth during construction for an example of what to expect.

According to GIICA's report, the main stadium in Victoria Park alone is estimated to cost $3.785 billion in today's dollars, but it’s not clear if this amount includes all additional infrastructure requirements like the concourse, access roads and public transport upgrades. The estimated cost for the National Aquatic Centre and Precinct is currently unknown.

If this destruction proceeds, a significant portion of this pristine, heritage-listed parkland will be destroyed and replaced by concrete, traffic, and large-scale development.

We cannot let this happen. If the government proceeds with this reckless plan, we will explore all reasonable legal avenues available to protect the park. But to do so, we need your help.

Why We Need Your Support

Legal challenges are costly. While we’ve raised funds for awareness campaigns - yard signs, banners, and outreach, we now need to mount a serious legal effort to stop this stadium. We have engaged a legal team to advise us on possible legal options and need your help to fund this work.

Our goal is to raise at least $100,000 to cover legal fees and expert consultations. Every dollar you contribute brings us closer to protecting Victoria Park for generations to come.

Why Victoria Park Is the Wrong Choice for a Stadium

A massive stadium in Victoria Park would completely dominate the landscape: a 42m-tall mega-structure (14 residential storeys) would take over the park’s most scenic, accessible land. The picture below is to scale and shows what would be left of the park if Perth's Optus Stadium was 'plonked' into Victoria Park. And remember - this image only represents the stadium itself. It doesn’t include the additional concourses, roads, pathways, bus zones, training tracks, or the 1,500-seat viewing stands that are required for an Olympic stadium. In reality, the stadium footprint would double or even triple in size once all necessary infrastructure is accounted for.

Building a stadium in the park would be a short-sighted decision with long-term consequences for our environment and community.

It’s Across the Road from Queensland’s Largest Hospital: The RBWH is Queensland’s largest hospital and is situated in the Herston Health Precinct which employs over 13,000 staff. In 2023, RBWH provided more than one million episodes of care. A stadium across the road to our state’s major hospital would bring significant noise, traffic, and disruption, negatively impacting healthcare services and the wellbeing of hospital staff, patients, and visitors. A stadium in such close proximity to the RBWH would likely also create critical delays for ambulances and emergency services on game days, jeopardising patient care and outcomes.

️ Its' a Culturally Significant Site: Victoria Park Barrambin holds significant cultural importance for First Nations’ people and was the site of at least two major battles between First Nations people and European settlers. It is also a site which holds a sacred bunyip waterhole (called York's Hollow) which is linked to First Nations people's dreaming stories. Digs in the parkland have discovered artefacts such as stone flints and oyster shells.

Unsuitable Topography: Victoria Park’s hilly terrain makes it an entirely impractical location for a stadium. Excavation (including blasting) costs to level the land would be exorbitant, adding unnecessary financial burdens to an already costly project. This is not where governments should be prioritising spending given Queensland's recent extraordinary weather events.

It's Surrounded by Schools & Universities: The park is bordered by multiple schools and universities (Brisbane Grammar, Brisbane Girls Grammar, Gregory Terrace, Kelvin Grove State College, UQ Herston and QUT). Adding a major stadium here would exacerbate traffic issues and disrupt tens of thousands of students daily.

Impact on Ecosystem and Wildlife: Victoria Park is home to a rich biodiversity of wildlife. The area supports 60+ bird species, including iconic Australian species such as the Rainbow Lorikeet, Laughing Kookaburra, and Sulphur-crested Cockatoo. Other avian inhabitants, like the Nankeen Kestrel and Tawny Frogmouth, reflect the park's role as a haven for both common and specialised species. In addition to birds, the park shelters native mammals, reptiles, amphibians, and a diverse array of insects and pollinators essential for healthy ecosystems. Paving over this natural habitat for a stadium would devastate these populations, permanently displacing wildlife and disrupting ecological connections.

It Would Violate our Host Location Requirements: The Operational Requirements of the Olympic Host Contract (VEN08) states that the following shall be implemented by the OCOG (Organising Committee for the Olympic Games) -

1. “Ensure no permanent Olympic or Paralympic construction occurs in statutory nature areas, cultural protected areas and World Heritage sites” and

2. “Prioritise the use of previously developed or degraded land over green field sites for the development of new venues and infrastructure, where these can provide sustainability benefits for the local community.”

Building an Olympic stadium in Victoria Park Barrambin would directly violate these host location requirements.

Green Spaces are Essential for Cooling Cities: Urban green spaces like Victoria Park play a critical role in naturally cooling cities, mitigating the urban heat island effect caused by concrete and asphalt. Trees and vegetation in parks reduce temperatures, improve air quality, and provide shaded areas that help combat the increasing frequency and intensity of heatwaves.

Great Cities Have Great Parks: London didn’t build its Olympic Stadium in Hyde Park. Paris didn’t develop the Bois de Boulogne. Sydney didn’t put a stadium in The Domain. Why should Brisbane sacrifice its largest inner-city park for a short-term event?

We Need Your Help - Now More Than Ever

This fight is about more than just a stadium, it’s about preserving Brisbane’s liveability and ensuring our leaders make smart, responsible decisions for the future. It’s about protecting our city’s cultural heritage and not concreting over it with a mega-stadium monolith.

✅ Donate today to fund our legal challenge and protect Victoria Park.

✅ Share this campaign with friends, family, and your community.

✅ Stand with us - because once this green space is gone, it’s gone forever.

Together, we can stop this disastrous plan and save Victoria Park for future generations. Thank you for your support!

For more information, visit www.savevictoriapark.com

*IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR DONORS:

1. Use of Funds:

Donations will be used for legal fees and related expenses incurred by Save Victoria Park Inc.

2. No Refunds:

Donations are non-refundable. Any surplus funds not used for legal expenses will support Save Victoria Park Inc's ongoing activities or be donated to another charity seeking to protect Queensland’s heritage.

3. No Donor Control:

Donors do not have any control over legal decisions, the use of funds or actions pursued.

4. Legal Actions:

Legal actions will only proceed if assessed as having reasonable prospects, but outcomes cannot be guaranteed.