Tasmanians will have to wait until at least mid-November to find out whether the Macquarie Point stadium can still be built for $1.13 billion.
The Macquarie Point Development Corporation (MPDC) today named BESIX Watpac as the preferred tenderer to build the stadium.
The two signed an agreement to enter the second stage of the tender yesterday.
Over the next month, Watpac and the corporation will turn a target construction price into a fixed lump sum for the contract.
MPDC chief executive Anne Beach said that stage would end around mid-November.
The corporation will then assess the price and take it to the government.
“We know there are cost pressures and we’re working through that and we’ll be better able to speak to that at the end of stage two,” she said.
Beach said some precinct work, including landscaping and site infrastructure, was still being finalised. She would not say whether it was included in the $1.13 billion.
The aim is to sign the contract before the end of December.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff would not commit to keeping the project within $1.13 billion or within the state’s $875 million cost cap.
“As we have committed to, we will detail the cost to the Tasmanian people prior to the signing of the contract,” he said.
He would not say how much notice the public would get before signing.
He said questions about what would happen if more money were needed were hypothetical.
Asked twice whether he had sought more money from the AFL or the federal government, Rockliff instead thanked the prime minister for the Commonwealth’s $240 million.
The government previously refused to release updated cost estimates, despite parliament passing a Greens motion backed by Labor calling for fresh figures.
Rockliff once pledged the state wouldn’t put in “one red cent more” than $375 million.
Greens MP Vica Bayley said the timing worried him.
“As we approach Christmas, we don’t want [the details released] on the Friday before Christmas and the contract signed the very next day and there be no capacity to scrutinise or indeed to push back on that,” he said.
“It’s incumbent upon the premier to be transparent about what this means for costs. Who is going to pay?”
The cap was agreed in a deal for the support of independent MLC Bec Thomas and any extra state funding would need the approval of both houses of parliament.
The AFL is putting $15 million towards the stadium and the federal government $240 million, with Tasmania paying $375 million plus the rest in borrowings.
The stadium was first costed at $715 million in 2022 and had climbed to $1.13 billion by the time parliament approved it in late 2025.
Anti-stadium group Our Place spokesperson Roland Browne is confident the cost will climb much higher.
He estimates it will cost $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion, plus about $800 million in interest.
“There is absolutely no way the government can stick to the $1.13 billion cost or the contribution of $875 million. It’s impossible,” he said.
Watpac’s Al Crosby refused to talk numbers.
“That’s something I wouldn’t comment on at this stage,” he said.
“BESIX Watpac is the premium stadium builder, if not in Australia, globally. Where there’s a stadium, that’s where we want to be.”
“This is an opportunity to set up in Tasmania and deliver a world-class stadium for the state.”
Macquarie Point Urban Renewal Minister Eric Abetz said the project was on track.
“The timelines are in place and that’s the important thing here,” he said.
“Instead of an industrial wasteland that we have suffered for the last decade, we will have an iconic gateway to our capital city,” he said.
Abetz said the stadium would host the Tasmania Devils, cricket, concerts and conventions and would boost jobs around the state.
He called it another major milestone, but said there was still some way to go.
He said the main build would begin in 2027. The stadium is due to be finished by the end of 2030 and the Devils are expected to play their first game there in 2031.
Beach said the two bids were strong and the result was tight.
“It was a very close assessment,” she said.
The losing bidder was a joint venture including Italian firm Webuild, which is fighting a SafeWork NSW prosecution over the Snowy 2.0 project.
Beach would not say whether the case counted against the bid.
She said both bids were compliant and the corporation’s lawyers had checked court matters in each state.
Beach pointed to Watpac’s experience building in regional areas, using local businesses and training local workers.
She said she was confident Watpac could deliver the stadium alongside its work on the Brisbane Olympics.
Crosby said the company had been chasing the project for more than three years and was confident it had the capacity.
Rockliff said the milestone had been “hard-fought” but that it had been “worth it”.
“This day is for every single Tasmanian as we move to the next stage and I couldn’t be prouder of everyone that’s brought this to this time,” he said.
Master Builders Tasmania CEO Jenna Cairney said the industry was ready.
“The building and construction industry thrives on a deadline and it will be all hands on deck to get this stadium built so we can welcome the Tassie Devils to its new home here in Hobart,” she said.
Civil Contractors Federation’s Andrew Winch said the project could bring home workers who left for the mainland after work on the new Bridgewater Bridge ended.
“Our industry is set and ready to work. We need work. We want to keep Tassies in Tasmania,” he said.
The state government has promised to release the final price before the contract is signed, which is expected before the end of December.
