Happy Neighbourhood

Head of HOK Sport Asia, Senior Principal, Paul Henry, said the AUD$280 million stadium is a fine example of what being a "good neighbour" is all about.

HOK Sport Project Director for the stadium redevelopment, Alastair Richardson explains; "Brisbane Football Stadium has been designed to blend into the surrounding area and complement it through the use of a low, flat roof which encloses noise within the stadium and ensures views are not restricted from the surrounding residential areas.

"The sports lighting is enclosed within the stadium to minimise light spill into the surrounding area, the lighting outside the stadium is low impact, and a service road for heavy vehicles is located beneath the stadium, to minimise disruption to local roads. There has been a rigorous community consultation process with local groups and government agencies to develop a design that integrates with the local environment."

Alastair has been directing the Brisbane Football Stadium redevelopment since the first concept drawings in 1999. Prior to this project, Alastair project directed the highly successful WestpacTrust Stadium in New Zealand. Since its opening in 2000, WestpacTrust Stadium has turned the finances of its home teams from losses to million dollar profits and won a number of prestigious awards, making it an ideal community stadia model for HOK Sport to develop further, for the Brisbane Football Stadium at Lang Park.

Multi-Functional, Multi-Use

Brisbane Football Stadium at Lang Park is the first modern dedicated rectangular pitch stadium in Australia. As well as hosting Rugby Union and Soccer, the stadium will be the main venue for the annual State of Origin Rugby League clash.

The banquet hall 
(50k) on Level 5.

Within the stadium, community sports facilities have been incorporated to enable indoor basketball and netball to be played, and facilities for a creche, a gym and cafes have also been designed. These ancillary facilities further integrate the stadium with the community and ensure that the stadium will be used on more days of the year than just major sporting event days. Revenue generating spaces within the stadium include commercial space for team merchandise shops, a sports bar, sports museum, office space for the sporting codes and stadium management, and corporate seating.

Environmentally Sustainable

In keeping with HOK Sport's best practices, the stadium incorporates Environmentally Sustainable Design features such as water tanks to store roof water for pitch irrigation and the use of external screening and natural ventilation techniques to minimise the need for internal air conditioning.

"The stadium reflects Environmentally Sustainable Design in its widest sense. We have deliberately adopted local scaling and local materials so that the stadium is not overpowering," said Alastair.

Brisbane Football stadium has been redeveloped within a new park zone that further integrates the building into its local environment. The Northern Park has been designed as a public amenity for recreation to complement the existing parks and recreation facilities in the area and great care has been employed in the design to ensure the secured area or 'keep' of the stadium is kept to a minimum. The main entries to the new facility are accessed from these new parklands and the design of these entries allows patrons to see glimpses of the field before entering.

Urban Regeneration

The stadium, to be completed in time for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, is also significant for the exhaustive feasibility process that occurred before reaching the stage of construction. Queensland has been considering this stadium for some years, debating its site, determining its business plan, making certain the stadium will be sustainable financially, socially, environmentally and physically. Brisbane Football Stadium at Lang Park is deliberately situated to be a catalyst for urban regeneration, a vital ingredient in the new generation of stadia.

Media presentation view
 of the field (86k) at Brisbane 
Football Stadium.

The stadium forms one of the central features of the City West urban regeneration plan which aims to link the educational, sporting, cultural and residential precincts of the inner west suburbs, to the CBD. The stadium's associated infrastructure creates new pedestrian friendly urban corridors into the CBD as well as linking the stadium to the city. The stadium team, in conjunction with the City West planners, have identified a number of potential development zones around the stadium, which will potentially see the development of new residential, commercial, entertainment and hospitality facilities. Associated regeneration is already occurring with existing local restaurant and cafe owners planning major upgrades to their facilities to coincide with the opening of the stadium in 2003, in anticipation of increased patronage once the stadium is opened.

Public Transport Focus

The stadium has some of the most extensive infrastructure and transport solutions HOK Sport has introduced worldwide. An extensive series of new pedestrian and transport infrastructure routes have been developed to link the stadium back to the city so that it is not isolated. Whilst only a kilometre from the city, the stadium has traditionally been perceived as being a long way out due to the obstacles caused by major arterial roads, to pedestrian traffic. The development of the stadium has been done in conjunction with and integral to, an integrated transport strategy that improves public transport access to the stadium and is focused on encouraging patrons either to walk or use public transport.

HOK Sport, with key offices in Kansas City, London and Brisbane, directs all its Asian work from its Queensland headquarters. Paul Henry said it had been; "A great thrill to design Australia's newest stadium in our hometown. The Brisbane Football Stadium at Lang Park design demonstrates that a world class stadium can be successfully incorporated into a sensitive residential environment with minimum impact."