Long road back for 'Sunk-orp' Stadium
PHIL LUTTON
19 Jan, 2011 06:31 AM
Suncorp Stadium has endured hordes of marauding New South Welshman, barrages of beer cans raining from the sky, thunderstorms that looked like the apocalypse and brutal brawls rumbling down its tunnels.
Through it all it has survived mostly unscathed, standing as a floodlit shrine in Milton to resilience and a refusal to give up; noble virtues so ably demonstrated by the citizens of the state and not just the sporting heroes for whom they cheer.
Not this time. The floods that remodelled the map of Brisbane from a buzzing metropolis to a putrid swamp have finally sent the old Lang Park tumbling to its knees.
Silt cakes the walls of dressing sheds. The maze of rooms and hallways that burrow their way under its famous stands smell like a public toilet that hasn't been cleaned for a year. Stale water and slippery mud remain on the floor, despite the initial clean.
There is some good news to emerge from the sludge. The field itself, which was covered in two metres of filthy water, is already on its way back to full health. In two to three weeks, the tireless ground staff will have it cleaned, revitalised and ready for use.
The bad news is that the support structure of the venue, which hosts top-line teams the Brisbane Broncos, Queensland Reds and Brisbane Roar on a regular basis, is in dire shape. It is unknown when the stadium will be open for business and the state government is making no promises.
Walking through the carnage, it's easy to see why sports minister Phil Reeves and the ground's general manager, Alan Graham, are reluctant to lay out timeframes.
The Roar's final home game on February 12 and the Reds' season opener on February 20 are no certainties given the current to-do list, which is scribbled on a whiteboard in an emergency meeting room.
"We're going to do whatever is possible to get Suncorp Stadium back bigger and brighter than ever. It's a big economic driver for the city. Any given game, there's about 1200 jobs right here. That's why we'll do whatever we can," Reeves said yesterday after inspecting the facility.
"While the field will be repaired as quick as possible, it's the inner-workings that will take a bit longer. We'll do whatever we can – the assessment is still occurring – but I must say there's no guarantee it will be a quick fix."
Memories will be hacked up like firewood and thrown in the landfill. The dressing room where the Queensland side celebrated its fifth consecutive State of Origin will be gutted and refitted, as will the majority of the lower sections that line Castlemaine Street, a thoroughfare off Milton Road that suffered badly in the floods.
"All these have to be removed. That will be the easy job. The hard job is all the inner workings; the electrical supply, the lifts, switchboards, the fire system - [they] all have to be replaced. It will take a long time for that to occur," Reeves said.
Six lifts, 12 electrical switchboards, the entire fire system and much of the wiring, including cabling that pipes television images around the ground and out into the world, are all to be inspected and many may need to be replaced.
The government's ability to call on its own workers will hasten the process but the rush to have it ready for the Roar's last home game on February 12, a likely A-League final a week later as well as the Reds' clash with the Western Force will go down to the wire.
For sports fans, the sight of the sacred ground in ruins is a bitter pill after a bitter week. But Reeves was right to put the damage into perspective. This is a football stadium that will be repaired, he said, while many have lost so much more.
"It's just amazing. The last time I was standing in this dressing room as after an historic State of Origin victory. Now to see it it's just shock. But we should get it in perspective," Reeves said.
"Suncorp Stadium will come back bigger, better, brighter than ever. But we've got people who have lost their homes and businesses and we've got to have our priorities right."
