‘Legacy starts now’: The Gold Coast’s $10m Olympic hockey runway

The Gold Coast will spend $10 million preparing its hockey venue for Brisbane 2032, Mayor Tom Tate said on Monday as a new pre-Games international tournament was announced for the site.

The FIH Pro League will be held at the Gold Coast Hockey Centre at Labrador next year, which would see the Hockeyroos and Kookaburras take on the world’s best nations on home soil.

Speaking at the announcement on Monday, Tate said the council would budget about $10 million to improve the venue ahead of Brisbane 2032, including improved lighting and a new hockey pitch.

“[It’s] nothing to sneeze at, but the most-winning sport deserves the best facility here to shine to the world,” he said, referring to Australia’s Olympic record.

“Twenty million people watch this – it’s going to be a lot more than that for Olympics – and you’re going to have markets like the India market, who play hockey.

“You can imagine if we had the finals or semi-finals with that national team – it just exposes the city for future investment, future tourism, and it’s such a great brand for us to partner with.”

First up, though, the Gold Coast Hockey Centre will host the finals series of the Hockey One League season on December 5 and 6.

Under previous Olympic planning, hockey events were to be held at the transport-challenged Ballymore stadium, the home of Queensland rugby, using a drop-in synthetic pitch.

Hockey Queensland railed against that proposal, lobbying at one point for a new hockey centre at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre site in Boondall.

Instead, hockey had to be content with its next-best option – the refurbishment of the Gold Coast Hockey Centre for Brisbane 2032.

Hockey Australia chief executive David Pryles, who lobbied against the Ballymore proposal, last year celebrated the Games Independent Infrastructure and Co-ordination Committee’s recommendation Olympic hockey be held at a permanent hockey venue.

“As we’ve been talking about over the last 2½ years in hockey, legacy starts now,” he said on Monday.

“Our road to 2032 starts with what you’ll see in 2026 on this pitch, and we look forward to being consistently top three, both with the Hockeyroos and the Kookaburras when we come to town for the Olympics.”

In its recommendation, GIICA noted the upgrade would be delivered at no cost to the state, and be made available to Brisbane 2032 free-of-charge.

“In addition, the City of Gold Coast will make available the adjacent council-owned land in close proximity to the venue to accommodate the temporary Games overlay,” GIICA said in its 100-day review.

“Preliminary investigations of the site determined this proposal was viable. While these continue to be explored, no insurmountable issues have been identified.”

Hockey was not the only Olympic sport to organising major curtain-raiser events in the lead-up to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Softball, which along with baseball is lobbying for Brisbane 2032 inclusion, will host the 2027 Women’s World Cup at Redcliffe next year. A major announcement about that tournament was expected at the Redcliffe Dolphins’ Kayo Stadium on Tuesday morning.

Both softball and baseball are hoping Logan Mayor Jon Raven’s plans for a purpose-built, privately funded ballpark on Griffith University land at Meadowbrook will ensure their inclusion on the Brisbane 2032 sports roster.

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