Brisbane’s storied Gabba stadium risks falling into “disrepair” if it does not secure a naming rights sponsor, Queensland’s Sport Minister says.
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The Queensland government officially launched the search for a naming rights sponsor on Sunday as it attempted to find funding for a multimillion-dollar facelift for the beloved venue.
The announcement that the Gabba might end up with a new name has been criticised by some fans but Sport Minister Mick de Brenni said there was no way to go forward without a new sponsor.
“I think what would really make die-hard cricket fans uncomfortable is if this venue fell into a level of disrepair that didn’t see us win back the first Test of the cricket season, and this sponsorship deal is all about achieving that,” Mr de Brenni said.
“Quite frankly (the Gabba) costs a lot more to operate and maintain and upkeep than we get through the doors.
“We weren’t prepared to jack up the ticket prices for families and so the other option was to embark on a search for a naming rights sponsor.”
He stressed any name would include the word “Gabba” as a nod to the 123-year history of the venue.
“So whatever decision is made about who the corporate partner will be, “the Gabba” will remain, so it’s a good balance between moving into the future and retaining that iconic name,” he said.
Queensland's Liberal National Party opposition accused the government of mismanagement over the move.
“The only reason the government is selling naming rights is because it’s broke. It doesn’t have any money to upgrade the stadiums to the standards that we expect,” Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander said.
“What we want is the first test back at the Gabba, and the government doesn’t seem to have a plan to do that.”
The Gabba was the traditional venue for the first test match of the cricketing summer for years but was snubbed completely for India’s four-test tour in 2018 in favour of newly upgraded stadiums in Perth and Adelaide.
Mr de Brenni said the government had been working with both Cricket Australia and the AFL, the two major sports played at the ground, to ensure any change of name would have minimal impact for fans.
Expressions of interest will close on April 17, with Mr de Brenni suggesting the final decision could be made by the end of the year.
He would not say how much they would be asking for naming rights, but pointed to the recent example of the Perth Arena selling its naming rights to Western Australia’s equivalent of the RACQ, the RAC, for $10 million over five years.
The introduction of a naming rights sponsor for the Gabba was one of the recommendations of the Stadiums Queensland Taskforce Report handed down last year.
