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Kooky
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About Kooky and Shaka →The Games Independent Infrastructure and Coordination Authority opened a call for expressions of interest on Monday 24 August 2026 for a contractor to carry out early works on the Sunshine Coast Stadium upgrade at Kawana. The notice on the authority's website gives firms until 5pm on Wednesday 9 September to respond.
It is the second step this month at the venue. On 7 August the Deputy Premier, Jarrod Bleijie, announced a $9 million program to relocate the community sporting clubs that use the stadium and its surrounds while it is rebuilt. Together the two notices turn a line in the 2032 Delivery Plan into a dated program for one Sunshine Coast suburb.
Games authority notice, 24 August 2026; Queensland Government statement, 7 August 2026; 2032 Delivery Plan for the seat count.
What the early works cover
The authority, usually shortened to GIICA, says it wants contractors with experience in major demolition, earthworks and infrastructure projects. The scope in its notice is the "removal of existing structures within the footprint of the future stadium development, service isolation, demolition activities and earthworks across the site".
In plain terms, the early works contractor clears and levels the ground. Buildings and stands that sit where the new structure will go are taken down, the power, water and other services that feed them are disconnected, and the site is shaped for the main build. The stadium itself is a later contract.
The notice says respondents will be evaluated "against mandatory requirements and project objectives", and that successful ones progress to the next round. It does not give a contract value or name a start date. The Government's statement of 7 August fills part of that gap: it says early site works begin later in 2026 and major construction in 2027.
Related readVictoria Park draft legacy plan opens for eight weeks of public commentThe clubs that have to move first
A stadium that is used every week cannot be demolished until its tenants have somewhere to go. That is what the $9 million program is for.
| Who | Arrangement announced | When |
|---|---|---|
| Sunshine Coast Falcons | Finish the season at the stadium, then play at Meridan Fields | 2026, then 2027 |
| Sunshine Coast Falcons | Move to the Kawana Dolphins' new clubhouse | 2028 and 2029 seasons |
| Kawana Dolphins | New clubhouse for the senior rugby league club | Not dated; hosts the Falcons from 2028 |
| Other displaced groups | Temporary accommodation at Kawana Sports Hub | During construction |
Queensland Government media statement, 7 August 2026.
Meridan Fields is being improved to take the Falcons. The statement lists upgraded lighting, timekeeping and filming facilities, game-day infrastructure and spectator facilities, and notes that Sunshine Coast Council has already invested $2 million in the fields.
Falcons chief executive Chris Flannery is quoted saying Meridan Fields "will provide a first-class playing venue" while the stadium is rebuilt. Kawana Dolphins president Michelle Horn said the new clubhouse creates "a lasting legacy that will serve the Kawana community".
The clubhouse is the part of the program that outlives the construction period. It is built because of the Games project and stays with the club afterwards, which is the pattern the State describes as local legacy.
What the finished stadium is meant to be
The 2032 Delivery Plan, published by the Queensland Government in March 2025, lists Sunshine Coast Stadium as an upgrade with 10,680 permanent seats. The Government's statement of 7 August says the venue will host football group-stage and quarter-final matches during the Games, and describes the upgrade as bringing increased capacity, enhanced spaces, improved amenities and greater accessibility.
GIICA's notice names Architectus as principal consultant for the design. It says the concepts take "inspiration from the Sunshine Coast's natural landscape and coastal lifestyle", with open forms, shaded concourses and elevated seating. Planned works include grandstands, supporting facilities and amenities.
On the authority's venue list, the stadium is shown in the design phase. It is one of two competition venues the authority lists on the Sunshine Coast, the other being a new mountain bike centre at Maroochy River, which is at the earlier planning and approvals stage.
Related readVictoria Park passes to the Games authority as stadium works beginAccessibility is a stated part of the brief. In a separate post dated 24 August, the authority said access is being built into all seventeen of its venues, named the Sunshine Coast Stadium upgrade among them, and said it is working with Paralympics Australia and the Queenslanders with Disability Network on venue design.
The stadium is not the only Games site in the region. The Delivery Plan places one of the three main athlete villages in the Maroochydore city centre, where it is described as part of a wider precinct with an arena and cultural facilities. Kawana takes the football; Maroochydore houses the athletes.
After the Games, the notice says, the stadium is intended to keep hosting community sport, elite competition and major events, and to support tourism and participation in the region.
How the Games authority buys its works
The stadium is one of seventeen venue projects in the $7.1 billion Games Venues Infrastructure Program, which is funded jointly by the Australian and Queensland governments. GIICA describes its task as building seven new venues and upgrading ten existing ones.
The Kawana notice shows the usual first move. An expression of interest is an open invitation: firms describe their experience and capacity, the authority checks them against its mandatory requirements and project objectives, and those that pass move to the next stage of evaluation. Splitting early works from the main contract lets demolition and earthworks begin while the building design is still being finished.
Early works are not the main construction contract
The tender opened on 24 August covers demolition, service isolation and earthworks only. The builder of the upgraded stadium is a separate appointment, and the State's published timing for major construction is 2027.
The same split was used at Victoria Park in Brisbane, where the ABC reported that excavators began early works on the stadium site on 1 June 2026, ahead of the appointment of a main builder.
Related readCairns' Barlow Park to close in September as builder search opensOne difference from an ordinary project is the approval route. Under section 53DD of the Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games Arrangements Act 2021, as amended in 2025, development to build a listed Games venue is taken to be lawful despite fifteen State Acts, including the Planning Act 2016 and the Local Government Act 2009. Building work must still comply with the Building Act 1975 under section 53DE. Decisions on the venue's design and timing are therefore made by the State and its authority, not through a council development application.
What Kawana can expect
For households and businesses around the stadium, the two announcements give a sequence, though not yet a calendar.
The first change is on match days. From the 2027 season the Falcons' home games are at Meridan Fields, and the stadium stops drawing those crowds. The second is the site itself. Demolition and earthworks bring machinery and trucks, and the statement places the start of that work later in 2026. For comparison, the authority's construction notice for Victoria Park in Brisbane sets standard hours of 6.30am to 6.30pm, Monday to Saturday, with some deliveries outside them. No equivalent notice for Kawana has been published. Neither source gives working hours, haulage routes or road changes, and none are reported here.
The third change is longer. Major construction from 2027 means a building site at Kawana for a period that neither source measures. The Delivery Plan's fixed point is the Games themselves, which open on 23 July 2032.
Transport is the other part of the picture. The State's Games program includes The Wave, a rail line from Beerwah whose second stage would end at Birtinya. On 18 August the Transport Minister opened consultation on station designs for the first stage, which stops at Caloundra, and the department's project page says the second stage is subject to funding approval. The department estimates the first stage at between $5.5 billion and $7 billion, with $2.75 billion committed by each of the Australian and Queensland governments, and expects construction to start in 2027. How Games crowds reach Kawana therefore rests partly on decisions not yet made.
The dates announced so far
- 2026 seasonThe Falcons play out the year at the existing stadium.
- 9 September 2026Expressions of interest for the early works contract close.
- Later in 2026Early site works begin, according to the State.
- 2027Major construction starts and the Falcons play at Meridan Fields.
- 2028 and 2029The Falcons are based at the Kawana Dolphins' new clubhouse.
Mr Bleijie described the approach as "building world-class venues while creating lasting opportunities for local communities, sporting clubs and future generations". The details still to come are the ones contractors and neighbours will both want: the name of the early works firm, the value of the contract, the main builder, and a completion date.
The next fixed date is 9 September. After that, the authority has to choose a contractor quickly if machinery is to be on site before the end of the year, as the State has said it will be.
Kooky, from Shaka
Kooky edits Queensland Estate and builds Shaka, the payment router he made for Queensland property professionals. One payment comes in, and every agent, agency and party in the deal receives their signed share on closing date.
