Stadium spells ‘I don’t’ for Victoria Park couples, but Bleijie says they had plenty of warning
The deputy premier has defended the mid-2026 closure of a popular wedding venue to make way for the 63,000-seat Olympic stadium.
Stadium spells ‘I don’t’ for Victoria Park couples, but Bleijie says they had plenty of warning
Deputy Premier Jarrod Bleijie has hit back at criticism that the new Brisbane Stadium would blindside couples planning to marry at Victoria Park, saying they had plenty of notice that their dream wedding venue would soon be a construction site.
Couples have had to scramble for alternative venues after it became clear the Victoria Park golf and function centre would have to shutter when earthworks begin on the stadium site in mid-2026.
Speaking on the Sunshine Coast on Thursday, Bleijie said people had known since last March that the planned Brisbane Stadium would be built at the site to host the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, so it should not have come as any great surprise.
With its sweeping views of the CBD, Victoria Park has been a popular wedding venue in Brisbane.Credit: Victoria Park - Facebook
“It’s been in the public domain for well over a year now that we were building a 63,000-seat stadium at Victoria Park,” he said, although the 100-day review report recommending the stadium was handed to the state government 10 months ago to the day.
“We are sensitively working with the landlord and the tenant in terms of making sure that any functions that were booked there, they get their deposits back.
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“Also, we have commercial negotiations taking place ... we are looking at compensation packages, obviously, for the tenant, who will, from mid this year, not be able to operate their business in that venue because of the stadium.
“It’s important from a health and safety perspective that when the earthworks start, you just can’t have anyone on the site, and that’s, unfortunately, including the business.”
Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority chief Simon Crooks said both the state government and Brisbane City Council were working with park tenants to ensure a smooth transition from the precinct to enable site work to begin, including support for workers and funding to ensure all existing event deposits are refunded.
“The Queensland government confirmed Victoria Park would be the site of the new Brisbane Stadium in March 2025,” Crooks said.