BRISBANE, Australia (AP) — Ready. Set. Wait. It’ll be another year or two before construction begins on the main Olympic stadium for the Brisbane 2032 Olympics.
And this is racing mode.
It’s taken almost four years since the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2032 Summer Games to Brisbane to finalize a cohesive venue plan, and now the countdown is serious for the 7.1 billion Australian dollars (US$4.4 billion) construction program.
Stephen Conry, chairman of the Brisbane 2032 independent infrastructure coordination authority, on Wednesday said “the likely date or year for shovels in the ground for the (main) stadium would be 2026, ’27” after the design and approvals phase.
“There’s a lot of work to be done when you start spending billions of dollars on infrastructure,” added Conry, who led a 100-day review of venue options and reported back this month to the state government. “We have over seven years, plenty of time to build a stadium. We’ll have it ready in 2031."
Conry joined Andrew Liveris, president of the Brisbane 2032 organizing committee, in pitching the Olympic construction and legacy plan to the Infrastructure Association of Queensland on Wednesday, a day after state Premier David Crisafulli unveiled the latest concepts.
A 60,000-seat stadium built in inner-city parkland, a sailing venue on the Whitsunday islands near the Great Barrier Reef and a crocodile-inhabited rowing venue i n central Queensland are part of the program that Crisafulli launched with a theme that seemed universal among politicians and citizens: just get on with it.
The original bid idea floated by then-Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to renovate a 130-year-old cricket stadium known as the Gabba to become the 2032 centerpiece was scrapped by her successor Steven Miles a year ago. Miles lost government late last year to Crisafulli, who has broken an election promise of no new stadiums.
Rather than shrink the scale, his government expanded it to cities and sites up and down the Queensland coast, factoring in tourism potential. Some of them — the rowing for instance — may ultimately be rejected by international sports federations. But it's on the drawing board. The state government also aims to bring in private-sector funding for an indoor arena that will be outside the Olympic scope but could possibly become a venue for events in 2032.
There's also the inclusion of a 25,000-seat aquatic center that will become home to a national academy in the Victoria Park precinct.
“We are a gold medal factory,” Liveris said of Australia's national swimming program. “For goodness sake, let’s give our swimmers a chance to make us proud on the world stage as they did in Paris and same with our Paralympians.”
Critics have said the new main stadium will decrease green space and add to traffic congestion, and have questioned the budget for a stadium at Victoria Park that was initially proposed in 2023 at a cost of A$3.4 billion ($2.15 billion) but has already risen to almost A$3.8 billion ($2.4 billion).
The Queensland and Australian governments are funding and building the stadiums and the Brisbane Olympic organizing committee is responsible for delivering the Games.
“Yesterday we got the stage. Finally, we have a plan,” Liveris said. “I have confidence that our team can deliver the event, and we have the time to do it. We have been preparing — I know there’s a narrative out there (of) three wasted years — but we've been putting all the planning in place.”
Domestic media polls showed the public supported the Games “overwhelmingly,” Liveris said.
“Even the worst critics have come to the the table and said ‘let’s get on with it,’” he said. “This is a palpable sense of opportunity. This is a gift.”
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AP Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
This photo shows the entrance to Victoria Park, where a new 60,000-seat stadium will be built for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, Australia Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/John Pye)
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Lauren Betts was so dominant inside that she barely missed, scoring 31 points on 15-of-16 shooting to lead UCLA past Mississippi 76-62 on Friday night and sending the Bruins to the Elite Eight of the women's NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018.
The 6-foot-7 Betts added 10 rebounds and three blocks for the No. 1 overall seed, which will face LSU on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four. The Tigers beat N.C. State 80-73 earlier Friday.
UCLA coach Cori Close called Betts a “generational player.”
“She’s not only dominant for herself, but she makes everybody on the floor better. And so you just want to put the ball in her hands as many ways and as many times as possible,” Close said.
Kiki Rice added 13 points and seven assists and was the only other player in double figures for the Bruins (32-2).
Tameiya Sadler scored 14 points for the fifth-seeded Rebels (22-10), who had reached the Elite Eight five times, but not since 2007.
Betts had a similar line — 30 points and 14 rebounds — in the Bruins' second-round 84-67 victory over Richmond.
“We’ve worked so hard to get here and I’m just so proud of the selflessness,” Betts said. “I think that to get to this point, it doesn’t matter who’s having their best game, it’s just getting wins at the end of the day. It took a lot of grit from everybody tonight, but I’m so proud of this program.”
Betts is one of just three players to have multiple games with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in the tournament in the last 25 seasons.
Ole Miss beat Baylor on its home floor to reach the Sweet 16 for the second time in the past three years. In 2023, the Rebels upset Stanford in the second round before falling to Louisville.
“When I look at the season, no one wanted us here, and no one thought we would be here. And we’re still here," Ole Miss coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin said. “We got this far, but unfortunately, we ran into a tough team tonight and did not prevail. But at the end of the day, we will continue to build."
Betts' layup put the Bruins ahead 19-10 in the opening quarter, but Ole Miss closed within 21-19 on KK Deans' jumper.
Deans' fast-break layup at the end of the first half got the Rebels within 30-29 at the break.
The Bruins opened the second half with an 8-0 run and went up 45-33 on Londynn Jones' 3-pointer.
Gabriela Jaquez was all alone on a fast-break layup that put UCLA up 63-46 in the final quarter, and Ole Miss never threatened after that.
UCLA’s only two losses this season came against JuJu Watkins and Southern California before the Bruins got their revenge in the Big Ten Tournament final, beating USC 72-67.
“Honestly, I feel like ever since our loss to SC, I’ve just completely changed my mindset going forward. I think just being aggressive, no matter what, and doing whatever I need to do to help my team and just continuing to be positive regardless of what happens,” Betts said.
The Trojans will also play in Spokane, facing Kansas State on Saturday. It will be their first full game without Watkins, who tore the ACL in her right knee during the first quarter of a 96-59 second-round victory over Mississippi State.
There were not enough superlatives for Betts' performance. She scored 16 of UCLA's 30 first-half points, the second time this season that she's scored more than half of the Bruins' points in a half.
She finished the game with a plus-23 rating, the highest of any player. And the Big Ten's defensive player of the year now has 93 blocks this season.
Last year, UCLA lost to LSU 78-69 in the Sweet 16. Now the Bruins have a chance at revenge.
“We expected to be in this position and it’ll be a good opportunity for all of us who were on the team last year because LSU’s the team that knocked us out,” Rice said. “So obviously want to come out, play hard and play really well against them.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here.
UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) looks to get around Mississippi forward Starr Jacobs (7) during the second half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) runs to guard Gabriela Jaquez (11) and forward Kendall Dudley (22) as they celebrate after the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Mississippi, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
UCLA head coach Cori Close directs her team during the first half against Mississippi in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Young Kwak)
UCLA guard Gabriela Jaquez (11) dribbles the ball during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament against Mississippi, Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
UCLA guard Kiki Rice (1) looks to get around the defense of Mississippi guard Sira Thienou (0) during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
UCLA center Lauren Betts (51) looks to pass the ball as Mississippi forward Starr Jacobs (7) defends during the first half in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA college basketball tournament Friday, March 28, 2025, in Spokane, Wash. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
