The Clarence City Council has thrown its support behind the Bayview Secondary College Sporting Precinct plan, despite concerns over whether the $60 million complex will ever attract the external funding it needs.
At Monday night’s meeting, councillors endorsed the project’s feasibility study and business case.
Originally proposed in 2014, the precinct would tackle long-standing sporting facility shortages on Hobart’s eastern shore.
The plan includes multiple outdoor sports fields and an indoor sports stadium featuring four courts and a high-performance gymnasium, designed to support talent pathways for aspiring elite junior athletes.
Councillor Tony Mulder voiced strong skepticism about the plan progressing beyond paperwork and dubbed the project the “Sporting Taj Mahal of Clarence”.
“This is a $60 million project where it was going to be $20 million from council, $20 million from the state government and $20 million from the federal government,” Mulder said.
“Yet look at it. $8 million from the state government and we are continuing to roll this over.”
He questioned the political viability of securing more funding, especially given the area’s electoral status.
“We aren’t in a marginal electorate. How the hell are we going to get money for a project of this size when we’re not a marginal electorate? That’s the politics of it,” Mulder said.
Councillor Daniel Hume pushed back and pointed to recent funding announcements.
“A great example just in this election [is] the Mornington Roundabout,” he said.
“It has an $80 million commitment from the federal government and $20 million from the state government. That’s $100 million in an electorate that’s not marginal.”
Councillor Heather Chong acknowledged funding challenges but supported proceeding with the plan.
“If we don’t have a business case, if we don’t have a proposal, then the pessimism is definitely well-founded,” Chong said.
“I think we should support this. No, it’s not going to happen tomorrow. But having it here available means it might happen and if we ignore it completely, it will never do so.”
The council will now seek to secure additional funding to supplement the state government’s $8 million commitment before the project can proceed to construction.
