Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 10 : Record of press coverage, March 1982 - May 1984

· .. . r ' 10 April 1982 Brisbane puts on bold new face for Games SIX months before the Commonwealth Games, Brisbane is busy with the final I :, r TeJ :t -l rt .I I ., touches. The city will be on display for "'~==!W,!:':\!::l!:~!!=j:=d!•=Jm=I!!::!!.=" about 35,000 visitors, 2,100 corn- ~ ~ pctitors and officials, and an estimated television audience of one thousand By MICHAEL DICKINSON million. • The city and S1ate go\'crnments have spent $35 million on sporting facilities in the past five years. The focal point of the Games will be the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee sports stadium. Its 10,000 seats will be augmented by a further 50,000 temporary seats for the track and field events and the opening and closing ceremonies. The new sporting complex at Chandler contains a cycling velodrome, swimming pools, an auditorium and a sports hall. A number of major public and private projects arc also being completed in and around the city centre. The new Art Gallery - stage one of the SI 07 million Queensland Cultural Centre - will be opened in late June. Stage two, containing a theatre and a concert hall, both with 2,000 seats, an auditorium and a restaurant is scheduled for completion in two years. The remaining stages - the museum and the library - should be finished by the end of 1985. The cultural centre is located on the south bank of the Brisbane River besid~ the Victoria Bridge. Like all self-respecting cities, Brisbane is getting a pedestrian mall. The Queen Street mall is a joint venture of the City Council and the Stale Go\'ernment. Games visitors will be able to join the throngs of Queenslanders between Edward and Albert Streets in this $3 million project. The mall is the first stage of an integrated pedestrian network which the Coun– cil hoped will transform the ci1y shopping cenlre. An other major public project is the An1a.: Squ:,re rcdc, clopmcnt. A joint \'cnture of 1he State Government In surance Office and Civil and Civic, the square will provide a plaza and one le\'el of shops above a car park. Two major developments have recently been announced 10 nank the Anzac Square project. Natirn al ~lutual has plans for an office tower and h0ppi rrg arcade to link the square with Edward S1rcet, and ultimately, cross the street. C0 lonial Mu1ual recently announced plans for a S30 million ret ai l-office development on the other side of the squ are. Th e fi rq stage of the Wintergarden Centre will ha1 e frontages to the mall and Elizabeth Street. The centre, which will be completed later this year, will pro\'ide t,wo levels of shops, parl ing for 450 ca rs, and a wa lkway ol'er the m:ill 10 I);" id Jone<. Th l' c rc,t lhlld i cashing in on the Games hy (Ompk11ng a 15-storey addition opposite the City Hall. The building will contain 213 hcdrooms, rn111·en ion and entertainment facili – ties. Two more hotels will be completed in the city centre in the next two years; the 17-storey Sheraton above Central Station and the 18- storey Hilton on the corner of Mary and Felix S1ree1s. Vi~itors to Brisbane during the Games will 11111 ia J cu rious phenomenon in the city centre ; the north -south streets ha\'e female names and the e.1,1 -wcst street~ have male names. Gue,ts at the Crest Hotel will be able to walk 0l'er Anne to get to George. Alternatil'ely, they ca n 1rip o, er !\dclaide before deciding to go al, 1 ng Elh1 ard or down Albert to meet up with 1 t 'ha rl,111c. A model of r/Je $108 million Queensland Cultural Centre designed by architects ~obin Gibson and partners / • I \ ,