The Queensland government is seeking a principal consultant and sub-consultant design teams for the new stadium in the north-Queensland centre of Townsville.
The proposed North Queensland Stadium is to be located in the Townsville City Waterfront Priority Development Area, on a piece of vacant land between Ross Creek and Saunders Street, adjacent to Townsville CBD.
The 25,000-seat stadium will become a new home for the North Queensland Cowboys NRL team. The team’s current home, the Willows Sports Complex (also referred to as 1300Smiles Stadium) is a converted greyhound racing track, located 15 kilometres from Townsville CBD.
The Queensland government is conducting a two-stage expression of interest and design tender process for the proposed stadium.
Expressions of interest for a principal consultant opened on Monday 29 August and will remain open until 19 September. A panel of key stakeholders will assess each submission against a set of criteria set by the government. The shortlisted consortia will be invited to submit a concept design as part of a design tender process in October 2016.
A concept design is expected to be confirmed by the end of the year. Construction of the stadium is scheduled to start in mid-2017 and the project is due to be completed in time for the start of the 2020 NRL football season.
The Queensland government has committed $140 million towards the construction of the stadium, while the federal government is committing $100 million. The National Rugby League and North Queensland Cowboys have also contributed $10 million, and Townsville City Council is contributing the land on which the stadium will be built.
The stadium, located in the federal seat of Herbert, became a federal election issue in 2016 with both major parties promising $100 million towards the project. The project will be the first to be delivered under the Turnbull government’s City Deals funding scheme.
In September 2013, a feasibility study for a new sport, entertainment and convention facility in Townsville was produced by consultants KPMG, with indicative designs for the stadium by Cox Architecture. Although the entertainment and convention facility is not part of the current expression of interest, shortlisted consortia will be required to include provisions for an entertainment centre in their concept designs.
Expressions of interest is being conducted through the Queensland government’s QTenders website.
