Former Australia captain Allan Border has called for The Gabba cricket ground in Brisbane to be knocked down and be replaced by a new stadium that will be built from scratch which can cater to hosting multiple sports for 2032 Olympics. However, the Queensland government recently abandoned a 2.7 billion dollars plan to demolish and rebuild the Gabba for the 2032 Olympic Games.
“I’d be knocking down the Gabba and building a new venue from scratch at Victoria Park. A brand new 60,000-seat stadium suits rugby, cricket, Aussie rules, and the Olympics, and the Gabba becomes housing,” said Border to The Courier Mail.
Moreover, a 3.4 billion dollars proposal to construct a new oval stadium at Victoria Park was also rejected by the Queensland government. The uncertainty around the Gabba has been so high that Brisbane is likely to be absent from Australia’s schedule of hosting Test matches for the next 7 years after it hosts the third Test of this year’s Border-Gavaskar Trophy between Australia and India from December 14-18.
“They haven’t got any certainty about the Gabba, so we’re off the roster. It’s sad, but they’ve got to have some certainty, probably over the next four years, if they can use the Gabba or not,” Border added.
Meanwhile, former Australia wicketkeeper-batter Ian Healy said Cricket Australia is anxious about the future of hosting cricket in Brisbane ahead of state elections happening in October this year.
“It’s frustrating Cricket Australia because they just can’t talk to either side of our government because our state is shut down until after the election (on October 26). It’s a bit scary for our stakeholders, Cricket Australia is quite anxious about the future of Brisbane cricket. So, let’s hope we get our wicket front and centre, and Australia gets some victories,” said Healy on SENQ Radio.
