http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.a...rstadium-project/story-fnjfzs4b-1227329257617
A NEW concept for the Townsville superstadium with a 25,000-seat arena is being finalised
A NEW concept for the Townsville superstadium with a 25,000-seat arena is being finalised by the National Rugby League and is expected to be sent to the State Government in coming days.
MASTERPLANNING on a stadium and convention centre in Townsville’s CBD can start this month, with the State Government to make $5 million available for the project.
It comes after Townsville City Council this week voted to buy the site for the project, presenting a united front in support of an integrated stadium and convention centre.
Labor – which has committed $100 million to the project – was set to make $5 million available for masterplanning after the July Budget but will now allocate it immediately.
A spokeswoman for State Development Minister Anthony Lynham said preliminary design works had already started on the project.
The masterplan was expected to be completed by July 2016, but Townsville state Labor MP Scott Stewart said he hoped it would be done before then.
Mr Stewart said he welcomed the council’s move to buy the site for between $8-$12.5 million as well as Herbert federal LNP MP Ewen Jones’s commitment to lobby his federal colleagues for extra funds to masterplan the rest of the Ross Creek Priority Development Area.
“It’s fantastic – all three levels of government are now on the same page and talking the same language,” he said.
“I really applaud the way the local government has seen a much bigger picture. The stadium is more than just the stadium – it’s the piece of a much bigger puzzle.
“We all want the same thing – Townsville to kick on with jobs, get the economy moving and people investing in the place, and we just had different perspectives on how we will achieve that.
“The masterplan will give us the whole bigger picture and gives the opportunity for investors and developers to see where we’re going.
“It provides them with confidence that all three levels of government are working together now.”
Mayor Jenny Hill said the Government’s move was welcome when many businesses were laying off staff.
“I look forward to them beginning the masterplan process. It’s good they could find money,” she said.
“The Government is obviously looking for projects that will be signature projects and this is one of job creation and urban renewal and it is an important project for the city.”
Planning and Development Committee chair Tony Parsons said he wanted the council to be involved in the masterplanning for the stadium and convention centre.
“That is fantastic news. It certainly needs council’s input because council will in time bear the fruits of the masterplanning,” he said.
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Sounds like they were all told to pull their heads in or else risk losing all the cash. Glad some common sense has prevailed and it looks like it's back on track.
In a Nutshell for those who can't be bothered reading all the links applesauce posted yesterday, Thursday last week it came out that the Tvl councillors were not all in favour of this new stadium precinct and that a majority wanted the money that the state gov had pledged to go towards a new arts facility........ The federal member had been jawing off for a few weeks that he didn't support this new stadium and things were looking pretty dire. The state gov said it's a stadium or nothing and now it seems all the key people are on the same page and want this now. The local council is going to buy or aquire the land off Devine, the reason for this I am not sure, might put more weight behind the project. The development is more than just a stadium and entertainement complex, there will be development in th CBD along the Ross Creek. The Town needs some influx of work, has a pretty high un-employment rate and is in dire need of some economic stimulus.
