Brisbane Airport’s billion-dollar Auto Mall dealership and race track cancelled

A proposed $1 billion automotive precinct next to Brisbane Airport – which was designed to include new-car showrooms and a race track – has been axed, three years after the venue was first expected to open.

Plans for the ‘Auto Mall at Brisbane Airport’ were announced in 2015 as a joint project between the Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) and Australian car dealership giant Eagers Automotive, which planned to utilise a 51.3-hectare site opposite the airport’s international terminal for an automotive 'experiences' hub.

The one-stop-shop precinct was to include new-car showrooms, an off-road test course and a 2.4-kilometre race track – designed in part by five-time V8 Supercars champion and six-time Bathurst 1000 winner, Mark Skaife.

However, in a joint media statement issued yesterday, the BAC and Eagers Automotive announced the Auto Mall would not go ahead, citing economic factors.

“Brisbane Airport Corporation and Eagers Automotive have worked closely on the development of a multi-purpose automotive retail and experience precinct at Brisbane Airport,” the companies announced in a joint statement.

“A mutual decision has been made to not proceed with the Auto Mall project at Brisbane Airport. This decision has been driven by a number of factors, including the economics of a performance track in a changing world.”

The Auto Mall was originally slated to open as early as 2020, though in December 2021 the BAC and Eagers Automotive said its opening had been pushed back to 2024, due to delays caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic.

While initial projections claimed the automotive complex’s construction would cost $500 million to complete, The Brisbane Times reports the project has received more than $1 billion in investments.

Motorsport Australia – the governing body for motor racing locally – had previously backed the Auto Mall as a boost for 'grass-roots' racing, though its cancellation means there will continue to be just two permanent racing facilities in South-East Queensland for the foreseeable future.

Queensland Raceway – located near Ipswich, approximately 50 minutes west of Brisbane’s CBD – was recently renovated by businessman and racer Tony Quinn, while Lakeside Raceway in Brisbane’s northern suburbs continues to host grass-roots motorsport events, despite ongoing tensions between the circuit’s owners and nearby residents over noise levels.