Mr Coates put forward a proposal using the existing Gabba, Lang Park and QSAC (Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre) stadiums, in line with the so-called "new norm" that encourages host cities to use the facilities they already have.No you're misrepresenting what he said. He said the public debate was damaging, not the original stadium choice was damaging. It is clear the IOC was more than happy with the original plan of building a new stadium otherwise they wouldnt have awarded them hosting rights.
And as for using existing stadiums, how many cities in the world who havent hosted Olympics in recent times have a suitable athletics stadium? They would nearly all require significant spend.
And this is the option the government picked, opting for less expensive upgrades and "modest enhancements".