Improved transport links, boosting grassroots sports and investment attraction are on the Ipswich community’s wish list as real legacies from the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding said today.
Releasing Ipswich City Council’s Leveraging 2032: Our Roadmap to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Mayor Harding said the roadmap aimed to bring top class sport and entertainment venues and facilities, mass public transport, hotels and tourists to the city.
The roadmap was launched at Brighton Homes Arena, Ipswich’s 2032 Games venue scheduled to host modern pentathlon.
Mayor Harding, Chair of the 12-member Ipswich 2032 Legacy Working Group, said Ipswich was now well positioned to secure 2032 legacies to enhance the quality of life for our community.
“The roadmap highlights opportunities that we know will deliver outcomes for this community,” Mayor Harding said.
“Sport is a powerful driver. It brings us together, improves health and well-being, and builds positive and productive communities. However, the 2032 Games is far more than just a sporting event.
“Our community has highlighted transport connectivity as the most important legacy outcome for our city, ensuring we are connected to each other and our neighbouring councils in a safe, efficient and reliable way.
“Our roadmap sets a foundation to achieve this and many other legacy opportunities in lead up to, during, and beyond the 2032 Games. The next decade will represent a golden era for the south-east, and Ipswich is well placed to take full advantage of the opportunities before us.”
Twenty legacy outcomes have been articulated through engagement with the community, Legacy Working Group and Advocacy Steering Group with a broader alignment to council’s strategic priorities. They are:
1. Ipswich to Springfield Central Public Transport Corridor – Mass Transit
2. Ipswich Public Transport Connectivity – Local Connections
3. Ipswich – Games Workforce and Supply Chain Connectivity
4. North Ipswich Sport and Entertainment Precinct
5. Regional Parkland and Indoor-Outdoor Sporting Complex
6. Springfield Central Sport and Entertainment Precinct
7. Pre-Games Training Opportunities (Venues and Team Attraction)
8. University of Southern Queensland Sporting Precinct and Tartan Track
9. Healthy and Engaged City
10. Ipswich Showgrounds and the Ipswich Convention and Exhibition Centre
11. An Environmental Legacy for Ipswich
12. A Sustainable Legacy for Ipswich
13. Boosting Business and Regional Growth Opportunities
14. New Hotels and Accommodation
15. A Local Volunteer Passport
16. Position Ipswich as the Place to Be Before, During and After the Games
17. Enhance and Leverage our Unique Selling Points and Tourism Assets
18. Support and Showcase Multicultural Communities
19. Destination Led Events
20. The Cultural Olympiad
Ipswich Mayor Teresa Harding and Holyee-Ann Jackson at the Leveraging 2032 launch on 8 December 2023 at the Brighton Homes Arena.
Ipswich City Council Economic Development Committee Chairperson Cr Kate Kunzelmann, said the Games was expected to deliver $8 billion in economic benefits for Queensland.
“That is even before you start to consider the social and cultural opportunities,” Cr Kunzelmann said.
“This roadmap outlines our priorities to maximise the Games’ opportunity for greater investment in the City of Ipswich.
“The success of the Games acquisition is the perfect example of what can be achieved when all three levels of government work together. The Federal Government’s commitment of $7 billion to the delivery of the Games is the catalyst to elevate lifestyles and ambitions through improving the health and wellbeing of our communities.
“The redevelopment of existing sporting venues and creation of new sporting venues will be both accelerated and amplified due to the success of securing the Games.
“The Games will be the largest event that has ever been held in Queensland. It is the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition, bringing hope for a better future.
“Our young athletes of today, may be our Olympic and Paralympic heroes in 2032, competing on the global stage, from a place called Ipswich.”
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