The City of Gold Coast councillors have voted to progress negotiations with a preferred private-sector partner to develop a proposed AU$480 million (US$341 million) indoor arena at Carey Park in Southport on the Gold Coast, Australia.

The planned arena is proposed for Carey Park in Southport and is expected to accommodate around 15,000 spectators. According to planning by Invest Gold Coast, the venue could stage about 80 events annually, ranging from major concerts and indoor sporting competitions to touring entertainment productions. Project advocates argue that the arena would fill a long-identified gap in the Gold Coast’s major events infrastructure, helping the region attract large-scale indoor concerts and sporting events that currently choose Brisbane venues instead. The proposal has also been connected to the city’s ambitions to secure a future National Basketball League (NBL) team, with supporters arguing that a modern indoor arena would be crucial for attracting a professional franchise and staging major sporting events.

Work completed so far includes a global expressions-of-interest process led by Invest Gold Coast to find a private-sector partner able to design, fund, build and operate the venue under a long-term agreement with the council. Under the proposed arrangement, the city would keep ownership of the land, while the selected partner would oversee the development and manage the arena’s operations. 

Although the proposal received majority backing from councillors, a number voted against it, highlighting continuing community debate over the project’s cost, location and possible effects on open space at Carey Park. Critics have raised concerns about potential traffic congestion, added pressure on local infrastructure and the reduction of green space in Southport.