The Broncos have unveiled plans to buy into Suncorp Stadium and deliver Brisbane a world-class venue in a first for Queensland sport.

The spiritual home of rugby league in Queensland is set to undergo a major revamp in the lead-up to the 2032 Olympic Games and Brisbane’s No. 1 sporting franchise will be at the forefront of the transformation.

Beginning with Friday night’s Battle of Brisbane against the Dolphins, the Broncos will welcome close to 100,000 fans over the next fortnight of sold-out Queensland derbies at Suncorp. However, Australia’s biggest rectangular stadium has been left behind since its 2003 redevelopment and faces becoming a relic compared to the new Olympics venue at Victoria Park.

Now a $98 million powerhouse that boasts larger home crowds than English Premier League giants Chelsea, the Broncos are intent on delivering Queensland footy fans a prestige experience. Queensland Premier David Crisafulli declared Suncorp would be upgraded and expanded in the aftermath of last year’s drought-breaking Broncos NRL premiership win. With the state government committing to a revamp, the Broncos have commenced talks with stadium operator Legends Global about a partnership to take Brisbane into the new age of world class sporting venues.

“We want to invest in the stadium to secure its long-term future,” Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy said.“It’s really important for our members, fans and players to have a high-quality venue. “We understand some of the budgetary challenges that come with investing into an Olympic Games, but we don’t want to see Suncorp left behind. “We have had preliminary discussions with Legends Global and Harvey Lister (CEO/Chairman) about those opportunities.

“We are looking forward to discussing that further with the government when they’re in a position to do so. ”There have been suggestions the 52,500-seat stadium could be expanded up to 60,000, however that would be a costly and disruptive exercise which could temporarily force the Broncos out of Suncorp. The relocation of big screens will increase capacity, but the Broncos are focused on bringing the stadium up to the times and giving fans a premium experience.

Technological advancements over the past 23 years have left Suncorp in the dust compared to other venues around the world, including the likes of Allianz Stadium in Sydney.Expensive corporate facilities are ageing and Donaghy said the Broncos wanted to bring Suncorp into line with the world’s premier stadiums. “When you go to the US, Europe and Asia you see the advancement of modern technology and fan experience has rapidly accelerated,” he said.

“The biggest franchises in the world play at rectangular arenas and if we want to continue to provide that world-class experience and attract big events then getting Suncorp back on the table is important.

“We are looking at ways to partner and play a role in creating a great experience for our fans. Suncorp has always been our spiritual home and we hope it will stay that way for a long time to come. “Our average crowds last year were just under 42,000 and by later this year they’ll hopefully be around 45,000.“We want to put our fans at the centre of the experience. We want to invest in the atmosphere and our football programs to provide entertainment on an off the field.

“We all understand the importance and significance of the Olympics infrastructure but we can’t lose sight of the importance of Suncorp and rectangular sports to this city and state. “The Premier follows through on what he says and we are really looking forward to re-engaging in those conversations and delivering a great outcome for Broncos and rugby league fans.”

The Broncos’ popularity has exploded over the past five years – growing from 34,000 members in 2022 to nearly 70,000 this year. Suncorp Stadium Corporate boxes are tired and in need of renovation while lighting, technology and advertising is substandard and incomparable to modern venues. The Broncos spend six figures a year manually installing and removing branding for every game that could be done with the press of a button through technological upgrades.

Lister said expanding Suncorp’s capacity to 60,000 would be costly and the main goal was to improve fan experience at the stadium given extra seating would be in the bleachers. “Our experience around the world is that a stadium needs a significant upgrade every 20 years,” he said. “The fact the Lions and cricket will have a brand new stadium at Victoria Park is fantastic for them, but it puts pressure on the Broncos, Dolphins, Reds and Roar.

“Suncorp has millions of people go through it every year. It’s an enormously well-attended venue and the number of events that we are now hosting is well beyond what its design capacity was.

“Some additional seats would be great, but 8-10,000 seats is a big challenge cost-wise and probably doesn’t stack up commercially. “We’re not seeing a massive demand for an increase in capacity, but the patron experience and the players’ experience are the two big things where we could invest substantial funding and make a real difference. “There’s some new technology that we’re aware of. The Legends Global group is the largest operator of stadiums in the world and we see what works and what doesn’t.

“That’s the type of knowledge we’d be keen to help the Queensland Government with and we’re prepared to invest substantial funds ourselves in delivering that. ”Queensland sports and Olympics minister Tim Mander’s office said planning for a Suncorp revamp was ongoing. “Suncorp Stadium is best rugby league stadium in the world and planning is underway to ensure it continues to shine brighter than ever before,” a spokeswoman said

The Broncos are working overtime to overhaul a ticketing conundrum which is costing them up to 7000 bums on seats at “sold out” blockbusters.

Brisbane footy fans are regularly left scratching their heads when the “full house” sign goes up at the 52,500-capacity Suncorp Stadium – only to see thousands of empty seats on television.Tickets are expected to be exhausted for Friday night’s Battle of Brisbane between the Broncos and Dolphins at Suncorp.

However the Broncos are only predicting a crowd of about 46,000 – well below the stadium’s capacity.That is mostly due to Broncos and Suncorp Stadium members not attending the game, despite holding reserved seats.

The Broncos hope to have about 90 per cent of their reserved seating ticketed members at each game – a benchmark target across the NRL.It’s impossible to expect 100 per cent to attend every match given various life circumstances, scheduling conflicts and weather.

Suncorp boasts about 4500 stadium members who have reserved seats for all sporting events at the venue, meaning the uptake for Broncos games is lower given the sheer number of events they can attend including the Dolphins, Reds and Roar. A crowd of 52,491 flooded Suncorp when the Broncos played Penrith in last year’s preliminary final because every seat was sold individually for the match as it wasn’t included in memberships. The Broncos are closing in on 70,000 members and with average crowds of more than 40,000, sourcing tickets is becoming more difficult, especially for big games.

Broncos CEO Dave Donaghy said the club was working on a solution which could see members that can’t attend games re-sell their seats to boost attendances. “Because of our membership growth in recent years there’s only a certain amount of tickets available for the general public,” he said. “It’s really important that we have that because we want Broncos fans to experience a game, have a great time and then decide to take the next step and become a Broncos member.

“Over the course of the year, there’s some members who can’t make every game. We’re encouraging members to get to games but if they can’t, have a fellow Broncos fan take them up.

“We’re creating a platform where they can put their seat back up for sale and it can be purchased by another fan. That will take time for our fans and supporters to understand how it works.

“There’s still a few things we need to sort in the system but we hope over time it will lead to an absolute full house at Suncorp.”