Major Events Precinct

The Cairns Major Events Precinct is a key regional asset, encompassing the Cairns Showgrounds and Barlow Park, both of which play a critical role in the city’s sporting, cultural, and entertainment landscape.

The Major Events Precinct Masterplan is a place-based planning and development project that will seek to clearly demonstrate how Cairns can strengthen its brand as a destination for sport and entertainment. The end result will be a future focused conceptual blueprint for a precinct that demonstrates the city’s vision for the site whilst remaining respectful of its heritage and current usage.

In September 2022, Council endorsed the Major Events Precinct Vision and Development Opportunities Report which contemplates the following development opportunities at the precinct:

1. Cairns Showgrounds Infrastructure Development – Supporting the Cairns Show Association on their infrastructure renewal priorities.
2. Sporting Asset – Continuing to develop the Barlow Park Zone as the region’s premier sporting facility, leveraging opportunities from the 2032 Olympic legacy.
3. High-Performance Hub – Establishing Barlow Park as a high-performance training hub to attract sports tourism, education programs, and commercial activity such as allied health services, group fitness, and retail outlets.
4. Open and Inviting Spaces – Enhancing the precinct’s aesthetic appeal and accessibility to create a more engaging public domain.
5. Flexible Nodes – Upgrading the Showgrounds Zone by integrating multi-purpose spaces.
6. Streetscape and Public Domain Interaction – Strengthening the commercial appeal of the precinct, ensuring better integration with the city’s urban fabric.

Council will continue to update this webpage with progress once the project has commenced.

View the Development Opportunities and Vision Report