The “multi-format” arena would have 7,000 seats alongside capacity for a 1,400-pax athlete village.
Following the Olympics, the village would become a five-star hotel and the arena would be used to host a variety of events, including business events.
“This will be an iconic destination that delivers major events for sports, entertainment, the arts, conventions, exhibitions and other community uses, enabling Queensland to reap the benefits for decades to come, after putting on the best Olympic Games ever,” said Walker’s managing director and CEO, David Gallant.
“The Horizon Centre has always been central to the Maroochydore City Centre vision to create a landmark economic and social hub which drives growth and unlocks opportunity for the Sunshine Coast, so we are excited to accelerate the delivery of this asset, to create a powerful Brisbane 2032 legacy.”
The area would be 6-star Green Star rated and be around 10 minutes’ drive from Sunshine Coast Airport.
Walker is a major player in residential and commercial developments in Australia. The company delivered the first tower in Adelaide’s Festival Plaza and is working on the second, in addition to being involved in the development of Parramatta Square in Sydney and Collins Square in Melbourne.
The developer is proposing a public private partnership for the new Sunshine Coast venue, known as the Horizon Centre, with construction company Built and architect Woods Bagot as the other two private partners. Built and Woods Bagot are currently collaborating on Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre in Victoria while Walker and Built have worked together on projects worth more than $3 billion.
“By uniting the combined strengths of the public and private sectors through the PPP model, a balanced approach to risk sharing will enable innovative, legacy driven outcomes to be realised on time and on budget,” said Walker Group’s executive of development, Peter Saba.
“The PPP model provides the certainty needed to deliver the Sunshine Coast the multi-use arts, music, convention, entertainment and exhibition centre the region has been in desperate need of for decades, while ultimately giving the Coast a world class venue to host more Olympic competition or heats action.”
On LinkedIn, head of business events for Visit Sunshine Coast Business Events, Ali Thompson, said the arena was a “game-changer for business events on the Sunshine Coast”.
In February, the Queensland Government committed to unveiling its Olympics infrastructure plan on March 25, which may or may not include the arena being proposed by Walker Corporation.
The state government should already have the report from the Olympics review that was undertaken by the seven-member board of the Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority – the report was due to be submitted to the government on March 8.
