Tasmania’s dream of having an AFL team will been shattered unless a 23,000-seat roofed stadium is built at Macquarie Point, according to new AFL boss Andrew Dillon.
He stood firm on the agreed conditions of the licence at a Public Accounts Committee inquiry into the proposed development on Friday, saying the location, size of the stadium and the roof were non-negotiable.
“If we don’t have that stadium, then the licence conditions aren’t reached, so we don’t have a team,” he said.
“We’re not in a position to renegotiate.”
Dillon said the AFL Commission and AFL clubs had given approval and the stadium was the best location for the team to succeed.
The federal government has pledged $240m to the development, and Dillon believed the entire funding would go to the stadium.
He admitted there was community opposition, but it would be addressed.
“This isn’t some that that’s a surprise to us… we understand that any change brings concerns,” he said.
