The Queensland government says it will provide funding for a Paralympic Centre of Excellence to be built at the University of Queensland St Lucia campus ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games.
The centre would be a part of the "legacy" of the Games and create a "long-lasting benefit to the community" after the event was over, the government said in a statement this morning.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said Queensland would provide $44 million for the centre and has asked the federal government to match it.
The centre will be built at the University of Queensland's St Lucia Campus, and will host international standard sporting venues, a wheelchair and prosthetics workshop and other dedicated testing facilities.
It will cater to 20 out of the 23 Paralympic sports.
The university has pledged a further $44 million to the centre's construction.
The premier said the centre would "inspire more para-athletes to compete in 2032" and provide "invaluable research and other opportunities for our community".
Construction is expected to begin in the 2025-26 financial year and be completed by 2027-28 if the project goes ahead.
Paralympian backs plans
Former Paralympic athlete Bridie Kean said it will improve the performance of paralympic athletes who train there.
"It's going to mean our paralympic athletes now and preparing for 2032 are going to have access to the world's best facilities, which will enable them to reach their potential come 2032," she said.
The government said the centre could provide a long-term home for Paralympics Australia.
State Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said it would be "the first centre for excellence of its kind anywhere in the world".
"With facilities at the University of Queensland already geared to 20 out of 23 current Paralympic sports, the St Lucia campus is a ready-made location for an enduring legacy," he said.
Legacy plan forum held
President of the Brisbane 2032 Organising Committee Andrew Liveris said Brisbane will be the beginning of a new era of Olympics.
"The criticality of the region, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Toowoomba is not lost on us," he said.
"We are now in a massive intake of inputs from all parts of across the state, country and the world about Brisbane 2032 and branding it."
A forum for a legacy plan for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games was held on Wednesday.
More than 12,000 submissions and suggestions have been received from around Australia about what people would like to see at the event.
They include making the event paperless, having a bi-lingual national anthem and building a First Nations Cultural Centre.
The ideas will form a draft plan to go out for public consultation.
