Plans unveiled for $2b Entertainment Arena Precinct in Brisbane

The precinct will be built above the Roma Street rail lines, making use of valuable air space above the lines as well as the connectivity that Roma Street has to every rail line in the SEQ rail network.

The centrepiece of the plan is a $450m, 17,000 seat world-class arena that will host concerts, performances and world sporting events.

The arena includes a 4,000-capacity rock club and is surrounded by cinemas, restaurants and bars as well as a giant-screen amphitheatre that holds approximately 15,000 people. 

The development will also feature a substantial public space approximately the size of New Farm Park, dubbed ‘Jacaranda Grove’.

Artist impression of the Brisbane Live Entertainment Precinct at Roma Street. Source: Brisbrane Development

AEG-Odgen has also provided a concept proposal for an arena complex at the Parmalat site in South Bank however due to the site being a much smaller area, the proposal would only include the arena facility without the public space or ancillary entertainment facilities the Roma Street plan includes.

 The long-term master plan for Brisbane Live at Roma Street includes

• Demolition of the current Brisbane Transit Centre buildings to become a new underground facility
• New hotels
• Up to 4,000 new apartments including a proposed signature 90-storey residential tower
• New commercial towers
• Creation of a future dining precinct in and around the heritage Roma Street Station building
• Future cultural facility buildings planned for above the upper Roma Street rail lines
• Medical facilities
• Possibility of an educational campus
• A new walkable precinct linking The Barracks with Kind George Square and onto the Queen Street Mall as well as new cycle paths
• Provision for future connection to Victoria Park
• Roma Street Parklands to remain unchanged however will benefit from enhanced connectivity

The best part about Brisbane’s most transformative urban-renewal plan is that it is a market-led proposal driven by the private sector. This means that no matter which government is in power, the proposal is highly likely to see the light of day.

The development of Brisbane Live will only add thousands of jobs to the 10,000 new jobs expected to come from the development of Queens Wharf. These projects coupled together would play a huge role in City Council’s bid to transform Brisbane into a New World City and a long-stay tourist destination.

Have your say on the proposal and which site is the standout - Roma Street or Parmalat - in the comment section below. 

Stay tuned to find out the outcome of the proposal by subscribing to Felix Project News.

Source: Brisbane Development