Dawning of the maroon decade

I’m going to start this column with two cowardly disclaimers. The first is that I realise it may not age well, and that by 10pm on Sunday night it could be looking decidedly stale. But that’s the risk one takes when committing thought bubbles to print.

The second is an apology to our many clients and friends outside the Sunshine State. The SAS Group has an office in Sydney and what feels like a permanent mission in Canberra, and we have clients working in every mainland state. But our heritage is in Queensland, and this is going to be the focus of today’s Inside Word introduction.

Growing up in Queensland in the 1980s, it felt like the state was the centre of the nation – and indeed the world – for a few years. The impact of the 1982 Commonwealth Games, the 1988 World Expo and the entry of the Brisbane Bears (now the Lions, of course) and the Brisbane Broncos into national football competitions gave Queenslanders a genuine sense of pride.

The 1990s – in the lead-up to the 2000 Games – was indisputably Sydney’s decade, and the Olympic rings have continued to glow for New South Wales ever since. But with less than seven years until the flame is lit in Brisbane, the immediate future belongs undoubtedly to the River City and the Sunshine State.

And (here comes the part that may need the last rites come Sunday) the Brisbane Lions and the Brisbane Broncos – both men and women – could make the city triple champions in 2025 in the national football codes. We shall see.

Regardless of the NRL grand final results, it’s clear the outlook for a city can rise and fall with the fortunes of its headline sporting teams. More than 50,000 fans went to Suncorp Stadium to see both Broncos teams win through to this weekend’s decider.  According to the ticket agency, demand was such that they could have sold five times as many seats. That’s a quarter of a million people wanting to jump on the bandwagon, which prompted Premier David Crisafulli to muse publicly about increasing the famous stadium’s capacity.

Why does this matter? Because the biggest bandwagon of all will be arriving in town in seven years (and, of course, Brisbane will officially become the Olympic City in less than three, when the flame is extinguished in Los Angeles in 2028).

The Olympic and Paralympic Games will change Brisbane forever – propelling the city into an exclusive club alongside the likes of Paris, Tokyo, London and Beijing. And while the list of Olympic cities is small, the list of cities to have hosted both the Games and a World Expo is smaller still.

The seven years to 2032 – and at least the seven years beyond – will be an extraordinary time of exposure, growth and success for the Queensland economy. Already, we at the SAS Group are fielding enquiries from overseas businesses wanting help to settle in Brisbane. They’re not necessarily chasing Olympic-related work, but they are being drawn like moths towards that flame. They can see where the action is going to be.

There will be challenges, and no doubt naysayers. When they arise, remember that public sentiment towards the Sydney Games was net negative until just weeks before the event began. History tells us that media reporting will focus on complaints, hiccups and perceived failings in the lead-up to the opening ceremony, all of which will be quickly forgotten once the teams arrive and the cauldron is lit.

Sydneysiders came around eventually. I think Queenslanders will get there quicker. Our love of sport, our optimism and our sense of pride will win the day. And the economic windfall will flow through to every Queenslander in some form. We are at the dawning of the Maroon decade.

C’mon the Broncos!