Toowoomba Showgrounds get provisional Olympic equestrian venue approval

As questions swirl about how a showground in regional Queensland will be transformed into an Olympic equestrian venue, members of the sport's governing body have given the site a provisional tick of approval.

And it has been revealed that world-class course designers have already visited Toowoomba to assess how they will build a new cross-country track on the 99.148 hectares site.

But questions remain.

How will the rundown stables be upgraded? Will a lack of accommodation in the town be resolved? And what will be done with the thousands of noisy corellas, who roost in the trees around the grounds, which could spook the Olympic horses worth millions?

And an important question, which remains to be ironed out, is how Australia's biosecurity laws will apply to horses being flown in from around the world.

Members of the world's peak equestrian body, Brisbane 2032 Olympic Games organising committee members and home-grown equestrian champion and Paris silver medallist, Chris Burton, have visited the Toowoomba Showgrounds.

While no final decision has been made, Royal Agricultural Society of Queensland chief executive Damon Phillips said the weekend visit was about showing the region was capable of hosting the event.

The group, maps and paperwork in hand, toured the grounds, looking at stables and at the cross-country course.

International Equestrian Federation president Ingmar De Vos said it was clear excitement and anticipation for the Games were growing across the region.

"It's great to have spent time in Toowoomba, visiting the proposed venue at the Toowoomba Showgrounds and hearing from local community stakeholders on ongoing plans and consultation ahead of 2032," he said.

"I look forward to visiting again in the future and thank everyone for their hospitality while the federation has been in town."

The group also met with Treasurer David Janetzki and attended a reception at Toowoomba City Hall with Mayor Geoff McDonald.

A very different venue

While there was some initial concern about how the region would deliver, Mr Phillips said Federation Equestrian International (FEI) president Ingmar De Vos was complimentary about the venue's goals and aims.

Mr Phillips said three criteria must be met: arena surfaces, the stables, and accessibility must all be up to world standard.

"So there's a lot of confidence that when we particularly look at those stable blocks and we'll be able to utilise some of the existing infrastructure and expand on that and improve that and rebuild those stables that we'll be able to deliver those world-class facilities that are required," he said.

Mr Phillips said that English course designer Mike Hetherington-Smith, who designed the cross-country course for the Sydney 2000 Olympics, and Australian Olympian Wayne "Patch" Roycroft visited Toowoomba earlier this year.

Mr Phillips said the duo spent four days in April, walking around the current cross-country course, assessing a possible design for 2032.

"The fact that we have so much space here is really exciting."

Accommodation and quarantine

Mr Phillips said the $220 million 1,000-bed COVID quarantine facility at Wellcamp, which was completed in 2022, has been proposed for athlete accommodation.

And horses would fly into the Toowoomba Wellcamp Airport and be quarantined at the showgrounds.

A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry spokesperson said specific biosecurity arrangements for the Games were subject to established biosecurity processes and ongoing detailed planning in partnership with stakeholders, including the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee and the International Equestrian Federation.

It is understood the delegation is meeting with a range of games delivery partners to receive progress updates this week.

Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce chief executive Tanaya Treadwell said there were mixed feelings in the business community, ranging from optimism about the opportunity, through to confusion around procurement.

She said accommodation remained "a double-sided coin".

"On one side, we need more accommodation because as it stands, whenever we have a large-scale event, we book out incredibly so,"

"But on the flip side, if we start adding a significant amount of accommodation now without investing into our tourism, our events, all of the things to do and see and enjoy about Toowoomba, we would run the risk of post-Olympics having really low occupancy rates across more hotels and motels.

She warned that while there was a lot of opportunity, there was also a risk that the region may miss out if it was underprepared.

"So whether that is delivering whistles, sand, security, catering, signage, uniforms, basically anything that comes into having the Olympics, there is an opportunity to take a segment of that," Ms Treadwell said.