‘The Tasmanian people have spoken’: Devils on track for AFL entry, but $1.13b stadium a year behind

The AFL has declared it’s full steam ahead for the Tasmania Devils to enter the competition in 2028 after controversial plans for Macquarie Point stadium in Hobart were given the official tick of approval by Tasmania’s parliament on Thursday night.

But the Devils are bracing for their new $1.13 billion stadium home to be a year behind schedule.
The 23,000-seat roofed venue was voted through the island state’s upper house of parliament at 11pm on Thursday, following two days of debate.

“Today is a historic day in the short history of the Tasmania Devils Football Club,” the AFL said in a late night statement.

“Since the announcement of the club on May 3, 2023, the Devils have made great progress, ticking off milestones along the journey, and pleasingly today, through parliament, the Tasmanian people have spoken.

“Now a new roofed stadium at Macquarie Point has been endorsed and approved by the Tasmanian government and work can progress on getting it built and delivered for all Tasmanians.

“This is an incredibly important outcome for everyone who has worked tirelessly to see a Tasmanian footy club compete on the national stage, and for the hundreds of thousands of Tasmanians who have stood behind the Devils with such passion and pride.”

Tasmania has campaigned for decades for inclusion in the national competition. “It’s an incredible result. There has been uncertainty. We’ve had to keep our eye on the ball,” Devils chief executive Brendon Gale said.

“This is 35, perhaps 40 years in the making. For years we have been discounted, denied, rejected, [told] that we’re not good enough ... [and] lack leadership.

“But we’ve got our moment, we’ve won the day. This is going to be so much bigger than football.”

The Devils will enter the AFL and AFLW in 2028 with the stadium slated to be completed for the 2029 season.

Gale indicated the club, which will play its inaugural season out of Hobart’s Bellerive Oval and Launceston’s UTAS Stadium, was not convinced the Macquarie Point stadium would be ready on time.

“There is probably an assumption internally that we’ll be playing games in Hobart and Launceston for two years,” he said.

AFL boss Andrew Dillon said the team would be ready for 2028 but said timelines in the agreement could change.

“That’s something that we’ll be working through now [stadium completion],” he said.

“But now that we have this certainty, we can now go out to the builders, get a contract signed, and start building.”

A contract to build the stadium is expected to go out to tender in January.

For the stadium proposal to pass the Legislative Council, the government needed at least eight of the chamber’s 15 votes. In the final vote, independents Bec Thomas, Dean Harriss, Casey Hiscutt and Tania Rattray voted with the Liberals and Labor in favour of the stadium, combining for nine votes.

Dillon said the vote was a historic moment, while Devils chairman Grant O’Brien praised support from across the spectrum.

Independents Meg Webb, Ruth Forrest, Mike Gaffney, Rosemary Armitage and Greens member Cassy O’Connor voted against the proposal.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff promised to cap the state’s spending on the controversial stadium at $845 million, and said it would be ready for 2029.

The roofed stadium, which is a requirement for the Tasmania Devils’ entry to the AFL, could face internal redesigns to keep within the budget, or the state could ask the federal government for more funding if needed, Rockliff said. The total cost will be shared by Tasmania, the federal government and the AFL.

Amid strong debate that Tasmania will be buried in debt, the federal government has committed $240 million to the stadium.

With stadium approval now locked in, Gale and the AFL can push ahead with coaching, administrative and player signings ahead of the club’s launch in little more than two years.

Opponents of the stadium, including the Our Place group, have flagged further protests, but conceded there was no avenue for legal challenges once the stadium is passed.

“While parliament can permit the stadium to be built, it cannot legislate reality to be different. And at some point, reality will doom this unaffordable stadium. The problems will grow to engulf all Tasmanians,” said spokesman Roland Browne.

With AAP

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