When grunge rockers Pearl Jam take to the stage tonight at the old QEII Stadium in front of an expected 35,000 crowd,its aluminium grandstands will feel the weight of patrons the first time in more than three years.
In fact,the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre,as the stadium is now known,has not seen regular crowds in its cavernous stands since the Brisbane Broncos switched to Suncorp Stadium in 2003.
Figures obtained by brisbanetimes.com.au show that over the past five years,434 events had been held at the 49,000-seat stadium,with an average patronage of just 1687.
The last major crowd-drawing event to be held at the stadium was U2's Vertigo tour,held three years ago in November 2006.
Since then,QSAC's temporary stands,which were erected for the 1982 Commonwealth Games,have stood empty and virtually unused.
brisbanetimes.com.au has repeatedly asked the office of Sports Minister Phil Reeves to reveal the maintenance costs of the stands,but those requests have been refused.
But Mr Reeves said the stands were constructed of low maintenance materials and if they were removed,Brisbane would have no place to host outdoor concerts when Suncorp Stadium was unavailable.
"There is no intention of dismantling grandstand seats when a venue of this size is attracting attention from promoters to host outdoor concerts,"he said.
"We've previously looked at the costs of removing the stands,however given the minimal work required with the upkeep of the stands and the increased demand by promoters there is no intention of removing them."
Mr Reeves said along with school athletics carnivals,QSAC had hosted the National Athletics Championships and the State Athletics Championships in recent years.