It’s the busiest weekend on Brisbane’s sporting calendar – a three-day event that attracts hundreds of thousands of rugby league fans to Suncorp Stadium.
But data from the Saturday of this year’s NRL Magic Round shows just 57 per cent arrived using public transport.
That’s far short of the 90 per cent target that Brisbane City Council has set for public and active transport to Olympic venues in 2032.
Heatmaps show many fans travelling on highways from the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, rather than catching the train, in the hours before arriving at Suncorp.
The data comes from location intelligence company BizziRex, which conducted exclusive analysis of hundreds of thousands of movements, captured through anonymised mobile phone pings.
Instead of relying on manual counts, or tap-on-tap-off data, their insights show exactly where people stayed before and after matches and how they travelled.
The analysis highlights challenges for local and state governments, Olympic planners, cafes and bars – but also opportunities to identify trends in spending behaviour and target public transport resources.
One heat map, from Friday to Sunday, shows people preferred to use the Centenary Highway over the Ipswich rail line, the M1 over the Gold Coast rail line, and Kelvin Grove Road over the Ferny Grove rail line in the two hours before arriving at Suncorp Stadium.
On the Saturday, 57 per cent of Suncorp Stadium attendees used public transport, which was free for ticket holders. Most caught the bus – 3.5 times more than the number riding the train.
BizziRex company director Nick Patorniti said a higher public transport share, closer to 80 per cent, was needed to service an international event, such as the Olympics.
“It appears there is still a high dependency on private transport modes and heavy road usage arriving to and departing from the multiple-day event,” he said.
Magic Round fell in the middle of industrial action by Queensland Rail employees that caused cancellations and a timetable downgrade, although the rail operator had boosted services.
Most people attending Magic Round games were around the stadium in the two hours before and afterwards, with Caxton Street particularly popular.
In the two to four hours before arriving at Suncorp for a Magic Round game, people also flocked to Eagle Street, South Bank and Queen’s Wharf, but they did not visit those spots afterwards.
Instead, after the games, people spent time close to the stadium, around Caxton Street and Given Terrace.
BizziRex company director Emma Tremble said the results highlighted a massive economic window for local hospitality and accommodation businesses.
“With the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games on the horizon, the clock is officially ticking for governments, event organisers and tourism operators across Queensland and Australia,” Tremble said.
“Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games isn’t just about the weeks of competition – it’s about a massive influx of global visitors, the strain on transport networks, and the lasting legacy left behind for regional growth.”
The event was not just a drawcard for NRL ticket holders.
The free activation hub at King George Square attracted 31,410 visitors over the three days, with an average stay of 48 minutes.
But it had greater appeal to non-ticket holders, with only 143 stadium ticket holders visiting King George Square, for an average stay of four minutes.
At the Caxton Street fan activation hub, which was closed to vehicles, about 20 per cent of people were ticketed Magic Round spectators, and visitors stayed for 65 minutes on average.
The estimated 57 per cent of Magic Round spectators using public transport on the Saturday was lower than expected, David Hayward from transport modelling firm Aptura Consulting said.
“This highlights active travel is going to play a significant role for Brisbane 2032 Games to achieve over 90 per cent passenger and active travel mode shares for inner-city venues,” he said.
And he said authorities planning for 2032 would also have to consider connections to non-ticketed events and locations, as well as moving thousands of athletes and spectators to official events.
Hayward said the lower popularity of the CBD, South Brisbane and the Valley after Magic Round games might be due to a lack of convenient connections to the Suncorp Stadium precinct at night, compared with Caxton Street, Milton and Paddington.
About one in four Suncorp Stadium visitors were from Brisbane, while 26 per cent were from interstate and 17 per cent from overseas.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.
