Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff will put a parliamentary order through on November 4 to advance the Macquarie Point stadium, Pulse can reveal.
The move comes after the Tasmanian Planning Commission this week recommended against building the proposed stadium, warning it would saddle the state with escalating debt reaching $1.8 billion within a decade.
Rockliff announced the decision at today’s annual Bill Sorell Sports Luncheon at Wrest Point in Hobart, where he defended the project’s benefits for the Tasmania Devils and the broader community.
“We’re two and a half years, or 900 days, from the ball being bounced, but already you can see the enthusiasm right across every region of Tasmania for this team,” Rockliff said.
“On the 4th of November this year, we’ll put an order through parliament … to ensure that planning approval can commence with the stadium.”
He highlighted growing grassroots participation, with Auskick numbers increasing by 40 per cent since the Devils were announced in May 2023.
“Most importantly, we’ve got young Tasmanians, boys and girls, putting down that mobile phone and picking up a footy for the first time,” he said.
“It’s been a long time coming, and some people said it [a Tasmanian team] would never happen. In fact, the AFL shut the door in our face many times over the course of the last four decades or so.”
He credited the persistence of Tasmanians for finally breaking through the AFL’s resistance.
“With the passion of the people in this room, with the leadership of people such as Grant O’Brien, Brendon Gale, Kath McCann and many others in the footy family,” he said.
“We’re nearly there and I thank everyone for that hard-fought fight.”
Tasmania Football Club Chair Grant O’Brien urged the state’s politicians to remain bold despite the planning commission’s concerns.
“Jeremy [Rockliff] and Josh [Willie] have got to be bold over the coming months, and it strikes me that when Tasmania and Tasmanians are bold, good things happen,” O’Brien said.
He pointed to the club’s Academy of Leadership and Sport as evidence of broader benefits, with 20 of 53 participants already securing jobs in Tasmania’s sporting sector within six months.
“That’s exhibit A of what this club will do beyond making you guys happy about a winning footy team,” he said.
Renowned Australian sports journalist and the luncheon’s guest speaker Caroline Wilson toured both the Macquarie Point stadium site and Kingston high-performance centre location on Thursday.
“I just can’t believe, sorry, that there would be any opposition to Macquarie Point. It’s perfect,” Wilson said.
“I think the shape and the size and the atmosphere are going to create that home-ground advantage.”
