Concept art of how the stadium and associated developments might look. Image: Macquarie Point Development Corporation.
An independent report into Hobart’s proposed Macquarie Point Stadium precinct development says the project is already showing the hallmarks of mismanagement and has blown out to almost $1.1 billion.
Commissioned by the Jacqui Lambie Network and authored by economist Nicholas Gruen, the report says the projected $775 million cost of the proposed 23,000-seat stadium and surrounding Macquarie Point is unrealistic and “significantly understated”, and its supposed benefits have been “overstated”.
A draft plan for the Macquarie Point site was released in October 2023. At that time, the then $715 million stadium and precinct redevelopment was to be funded to the tune of $375 million by the Tasmanian Government, $240 million by the Federal Government, $15 million by the Australian Football League (AFL), and the remaining $85 million expected to be raised through borrowings against land sale or lease for commercial uses.
The design for the stadium was revised and released in July 2024, at which time the projected cost remained at $715 million.
The new stadium is a key condition on Tasmania being awarded a franchise by the AFL, starting in the 2029 season.
In addition to the stadium seating, the facility is planned to have a 1500-seat function room, a stage pocket for concerts and events, accessible design features, separated back-of-house and catering facilities and a below-ground service road, and a woven-style facade designed to resemble the roundhouse structure that used to be part of the Hobart Rail Yard at Macquarie Point.
The redevelopment of the area was designed to yield significant returns to the state’s economy through the hosting of major events at the stadium and additional entertainment outlets alongside.
But Dr Gruen’s review has found the costings and benefits don’t add up.
“The central conclusion of this review is that the projected costs associated with the stadium at the Macquarie Point multipurpose precinct have been significantly understated,” it reads.
“At the same time, the benefits have been overstated. Accordingly, the projected benefit-cost ratio has been significantly overstated.
“I find that the costs of the stadium development can reasonably be estimated to exceed $1 billion, with a benefit-cost ratio of 44 cents in every dollar invested by Tasmania,” it added.
“The project is already displaying the hallmarks of mismanagement with much of that mismanagement stemming from officials’ attempts to deliver the project within the Tasmanian Government’s commitment to limiting the stadium’s impact on state debt to $375 million.
“This commitment cannot be met.”
The report claims the government is disguising costs by increasing the estimated value of land sales at Macquarie Point by over 50 per cent.
“I am unaware of any real developments in the land being prepared for sale or its valuation that would justify such a treatment,” Dr Gruen said, adding that the relocation of the Goods Shed had been left out of the cost estimates, and the interest on the State Government’s $375 million borrowing for its share of the project had not been taken into account.
“Official reporting on the progress of the project is not candid,” he said. “This undermines the community’s trust in the process. Various means are being used to disguise the true cost of the project.”
Senator Lambie slammed the report’s findings, describing it as a “dud”, and saying “it’s not viable”.
“The State Government needs to go and tell the AFL where to stick it right now and tell them it’s not going to play the game,” she said.
“There is no reason why we can’t have a team in the AFL; it just won’t be at the beck and call of AFL Australia.”
Instead, she suggested the existing York Park in Launceston could be updated at a fraction of the cost, or the proposed ‘Mac Point 2.0’ proposal which state Labor took to last year’s election be given another look.
But Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff disputed the report’s findings and restated his government’s commitment to the project.
“Mr Gruen’s report was commissioned on behalf of the Jacqui Lambie Network, which has always opposed the stadium, and is his opinion,” he said.
“We are full steam ahead on delivering this transformational precinct and are pleased with the positive interest received to date from the private sector.”
Former Tasmanian premier and now president of the Northern Tasmanian Football Association Peter Gutwein said he believed the social and economic benefits of the project were real, but said “petty parochial politics” were getting in the way.
“The processes that have frustrated its pathway to date will ensure that it’s probably not finished until 2029 or 2030,” he told the ABC.
“A conversation with the AFL would make sense in terms of how those two years would be dealt with.”
