Liz McCleary bends down as she makes her bowl.
But the rhythmic thud of the bowl colliding with another on the manicured green is drowned out by a thought.
The passionate bowler is upset. She doesn’t know how long she’ll be able to keep playing bowls at one of her favourite spots.
“I’m quite angry about the Olympics,” Ms McCleary said.
The Toowoomba Bowls Club, where she regularly plays, faces an uncertain future with many players anxious the 2032 Brisbane Olympic Games will force it to close.
The community group is located on the site of the Queensland government-owned Toowoomba Sports Ground, home to the 2,500-seat Clive Berghofer Stadium.
That stadium, nestled on a block in the suburb of East Toowoomba, is set to be upgraded as part of the Olympics, with the number of permanent seats doubled to 5,000 and an extra 10,000 temporary seats installed.
Earlier this year, the federal government announced the stadium upgrade would be part of a $935 million funding package with the works expected to take place closer to 2028.
The upgrades, for preliminary Olympics football games, have bowls players and management at the club worried.
Geotechnical studies underway
Earlier this month staff from the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport undertook some geotechnical works and soil testing around the club as part of the stadium upgrade planning.
“We’ve been given absolutely no information regarding our future,” club treasurer Michael Hanna said.
“All we’ve been told is that we’re part of a project validation report and we’ll be contacted.
“That’s been ongoing for about 12 months now.”
The Bowls Club is the fourth oldest club in the state, and the oldest on Queensland’s Darling Downs.
It was established in 1900 and moved to its current site at the stadium complex in 1903.
“We have games where there are three generations playing together, the grandfather, the father, and the son,” Mr Hanna said.
“You don’t get that in other sports — that camaraderie, that inclusiveness.
“We have different clubs also that use our hall, like the U3A, that couldn’t afford to go to other places for space and services we provide — so they’d lose out as well.”
Managers fearful
Next door is a tennis club and a croquet club — both almost just as historic and in the same predicament.
Mr Hanna said the bowls club’s lease was recently renewed by the government for one year, to December 31, 2024.
“They used to give us three years [on the lease] at a time,” he said.
“We’re very fearful for the future of the club.
“It’s going to be very disappointing if we’re bulldozed for a training paddock, a car park, or an office.”
Mr Hanna said the club had already lost about 12 members to other clubs over the past three months because of the uncertainty.
It has about 200 members.
Retiree Mick Cherry, 75, has been playing bowls at the club exclusively for the past 20 years but has been playing there on and off for more than 50.
He said if the club closed, it would be the end of his participation in the sport as he did not want to go to another club.
Ms McCleary said the situation was similar to what had happened at East Brisbane State School.
Earlier this year, after months of uncertainty, the state government announced the historic school would be relocated to make way for upgrades to the Gabba for the Olympics.
“You’ve got generations that went to that school, we had generations that went here,” Ms McCleary said.
“You can’t just wipe that off the map.”
Attracting major events
The Department of State Development, Infrastructure, Local Government and Planning would not comment when asked about the future of the bowls club.
But a spokesperson said upgrades to the sports ground would “ensure the site meets the needs of a growing community and continues to attract major events to the region, continuing to benefit the community long after 2032”.
“A project validation report (PVR) is underway, which will provide advice around the anticipated scope, costs and risks, technical design inclusions, delivery planning, service need, social impact as well as delivery and operating models,” the spokesperson said.
They said a geotechnical investigation had been completed that would form part of the design options and as part of the process all stakeholders, including the clubs and the local council, would be consulted.
LNP federal Member for Groom, Garth Hamilton, said there were serious concerns the bowls club would have to close.
“We want to see investment in our region, we just want to get it right and we want to be involved,” he said.
“There are some very legitimate concerns — the need for adequate parking, traffic control during events, noise and dust levels, basic amenities like the availability of water.”
Just across the road from the bowls club and stadium is the historic Queens Park — the epicentre of Toowoomba’s Carnival of Flowers.
“This isn’t just a bowls club separate from Queens Park; it’s part of a whole [precinct],” Ms McCleary said.
“Without it, it could change Toowoomba.
“If they could tear down something that’s as precious to the community as this club, who knows what’s next in line?”
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