The international market will help shape the proposed Gold Coast Arena with Expressions of Interest set to open this month.
City of Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the arena, confirmed as a Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games venue, was set to become a premier destination for international touring artists, sports entertainment and major cultural events.
“We are about to ignite a global investment wave with the opportunity for investors to partner on a legacy 12,000-plus capacity sports and entertainment arena,” Mayor Tate said.
“The City will formally launch a global Expressions of Interest (EOI) process later this month.
“We will be seeking expressions of interest from major Australian and international consortia to enter a Public Private Partnership to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the landmark venue.”
Invest Gold Coast Chair Will Hodgman said the arena would be operated on a long-term arrangement at Carey Park, Southport, in the heart of the Gold Coast CBD.
“We want to give investors the confidence and delivery certainty they need to get behind this project,” Mr Hodgman said.
“We are not prescribing the scope or terms, rather we’re inviting the international market to help shape this project with world-class expertise and ideas.”
He said this was this was a unique chance for a world-class consortium to deliver a “premier entertainment venue in one of APAC’s most vibrant cities”.
“The demand for a venue like the Gold Coast Arena has never been higher with the city’s youth under-20 population forecast to grow 38 percent by 2041.”
Mr Hodgman said Live Performance Australia reported that Queensland hosted 4.9 million live performance fans in 2023 with the Gold Coast generating close to $1 billion in the music economy.
He said the arena construction was expected to generate up to $2 billion in economic output, support more than 6500 jobs and inject some $700 million into the regional economy.
“Invest Gold Coast will release full EOI documentation and registration details in late August, with submissions expected to close in November.”
