A damning report has declared the proposed new stadium in Tasmania, which is key to the AFL’s 19th team, should not be built, projecting costs could blow out to as much as $1.8bn and cause “irrevocable” damage.
The long-awaited Tasmanian Planning Commission assessment found there were fundamental problems with the size, location and geographical features of the site and rejected the application to build at Macquarie Point.
A new stadium, with a roof, is a demand from the AFL for the new team and the findings of the report could be a hammer blow to the Devils’ plans of entering the competition in 2028.
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The rejection, however, it not binding and Tasmanian premier, Jeremy Rockliff, declared a vote in parliament would ultimately decide whether the project would go ahead.
“It found that concerns around transport, safety, access and noise can be successfully addressed. Unfortunately, it still massively underestimates the social and economic benefits that the stadium, a new AFL team, and a supercharged events industry will have on Tasmania,” he said in a statement.
“It’s the reason why new stadiums right around the nation are approved using special laws, not the traditional planning scheme. And that’s why our process gives Parliament the final say.
“The TPC has done its job, and I thank them. It’s now time for democratically elected Members of Parliament to have the final say. We will provide a comprehensive response to the TPC report soon.
“And we will continue to fight for this project. Because as a growing State, we simply cannot afford not to. This is so much bigger than politics. This is our future on the line.”
Amid a raft of negative assessments, the report found building the stadium would “diminish the economic welfare” of Tasmania and a need for the government to accumulate $1bn in debt for construction costs could mean an extra $5900 per Tasmanian household in taxes.
In its conclusion, the report was highly critical of the planning elements of the stadium and made clear the damaging effects building it would have on the local economy.
“The fundamental problem is the size, location and geographical features of the site, in its highly valued context, do not support the disproportionately large, monolithic building proposed,” it reads.
“Proceeding with the project will give rise to irrevocable and unacceptable adverse impacts on Hobart’s spatial and landscape character, urban form and historic cultural heritage.
“The project represents a significant net cost and will diminish the economic welfare of Tasmanians as a whole.
“In very simple terms, the stadium is too big for the site and the benefits it will bring are significantly outweighed by the disbenefits it creates.”
The findings came after a 12-month assessment but the recommendation is not binding and Tasmania’s parliament will have the final say on the project’s approval.
There will be vote in both houses of parliament.
The stadium is a requirement under the AFL’s contract with the Tasmanian government and any negative decision could prove a huge stumbling block.
The Tasmanian team has ploughed ahead with preparations for entering the competition and will field both VFL and VFLW teams in 2026.
There are also widespread reports that former Collingwood coach, Nathan Buckley is inching closer to being announced as the club’s inaugural coach.
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