A HOTEL, plenty of housing and a swish new entertainment centre – this is what Broadmeadow could look like if the precinct was redeveloped.
Leading architecture firm dwp will on Friday unveil its own vision for the showground as a peak industry body stresses that Newcastle has a “fantastic opportunity” to “think differently” about the precinct.
The firm’s “hypothetical” plans, which will be released at a Property Council lunch, show a remarkably different Broadmeadow as terrace housing features prominently where a car park is positioned now.
The plans show a rebuilt entertainment centre next to a high-rise hotel and seniors housing.
A sports field is at the centre of the design.
The Newcastle Herald has previously reported the Berejiklian government’s plans to open the 63-hectare site up to private development has attracted substantial interest, particularly in the north-west corner, where a business case for a hotel is seen as feasible given its proximity to McDonald Jones Stadium and the entertainment centre.
The state government’s long-awaited draft concept plan for the future of Broadmeadow was released last year.
The Knights have since confirmed that a $20 million rugby league centre of excellence will be built in Broadmeadow at a site adjacent to the stadium.
Leone Lorrimer, chief executive of dwp, predicted the Broadmeadow precinct would have “seamless” links between aligned industries.
“The link between medicine, tertiary research and sport is a seemingly easy connection to make for the Broadmeadow Sport Precinct, but further afield in the Port of Newcastle there is a link between the creative, logistics and construction industries that could drive an innovative business model,” Ms Lorrimer said.
“Central to a broader community benefit and a key attractor for the region would be a multifunctional entertainment space. Integrated with retail, car parking and an adjacent hotel, it would bookend the sports and entertainment precinct, with the stadium to the west and an entertainment centre to the east.”
Property Council NSW executive director Jane Fitzgerald added: “We have a fantastic opportunity … dwp’s designs show what we can achieve through thinking differently about the Broadmeadow Sports Precinct and the Showground and creating better spaces.”
Sports Minister Stuart Ayres said he was open to the public’s views on new housing at the site, a move which attracted criticism from Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp who said the redevelopment “should be about delivering sporting facilities” and not an opportunity to “flog off public land”.
