The first official concept designs of Hobart’s Macquarie Point stadium have been released, with the state government saying it will be the “largest timber roofed stadium in the world” when completed.
Minister for Sports and Events Nic Street said the stadium will be more than just a home for the Tasmania Devils, with the venue designed to host a variety of events from cricket to concerts and conventions.
“We’ve worked to design a welcoming, functional and uniquely Tasmanian multipurpose stadium for this space,” Street said.
“While developing this stadium is an important step in realising our dream of seeing our own AFL and AFLW teams running out on our own field, this facility will offer so much more.”
The 23,000-seat roofed stadium will include a 1,500-person function room with views to kunanyi/Mount Wellington, a stage pocket in the northern stand to support concerts and events and easy-to-follow accessible design features.
These features include a single continuous concourse that services the whole stadium, a seating bowl design that will bring crowds closer to the action and underground service road.
The design features a “low profile built-form” and a “woven-style” facade that has been informed by the roundhouse structure that used to be part of the Hobart Rail Yard at Macquarie Point.
“The maritime heritage of the broader area has also been taken into account and culturally informed under the guidance of Aboriginal community members,” Street said.
The fixed, dome-shaped roof is an important part of the design, with the transparent roof allowing light in, supporting natural turf growth and avoiding the need for large light towers.
“The frame will support a fully transparent ETFE material, which is a plastic based material designed to have a high corrosion resistance and strength over a wide temperature range,” Street said.
Further detailed information on the project is expected to be made public in the coming days.
Pulse understands the recently heritage-listed 1915 Goods Shed will be relocated around 100 metres to make way for the stadium.
The government has capped its expenditure on the $715 development at $375 million, with the federal government to chip in $240 million and the AFL $15 million.
Private sources will make up the remaining $85 million.
A submission to assess the multipurpose stadium through the Project of State Significance process is anticipated to be made later this month.
