QUEENSLAND COUNTRY BANK STADIUM PROJECT OF THE YEAR

The new stadium secured Watpac the prestigious Project of the Year award, Best Sporting Facilities award and Excellence in Workplace Health & Safety. Watpac was Managing Contractor for the $300 million project and prioritised local subcontractors and suppliers, and Indigenous employment.

Watpac’s General Manager for Queensland and the Northern Territory, Drew Brockhurst, said the awards are a huge credit to the team. “Our local subcontractors and suppliers, the architects, engineers and all the consultants have done a fantastic job supporting us. We are very proud also of our result on Indigenous employment. We were set a target of 6 percent and achieved nearly 12percent,” Drew said.

Master Builders Queensland published the judges’ comments: “A project such as this would always be subject to political and public scrutiny at every milestone and Watpac appears to have handled the delivery of this iconic North Queensland stadium with considered and appropriate professionalism.”

“To cap it off the Townsville monsoonal flood event eventuated in the middle of construction, but to Watpac's credit, the impact was minimal to the overall programme.”

“This is a magnificent contribution to the skyline of the city of Townsville, the likes of which we will probably not witness again for generations,” the judges concluded.

Watpac’s Drew Brockhurst said the team is also particularly pleased with the community legacy of increased skills and subcontractor capability left by the project. “It’s a stadium for North Queensland, built by North Queensland,” Drew said.