The Tasmania Devils’ new high performance centre will stretch across 9,000 square metres – roughly three times the size of a local supermarket.
It is expected to be one of the premier elite training facilities in the AFL when it opens in July 2028.
Tasmanian construction firm Fairbrother has been locked in to deliver the $105m to $115m project at the Twin Ovals precinct in Kingston.
Work is set to begin immediately, following site preparation by Tasmanian firm Batchelor Construction Group wrapping up at the end of September.
The facility will house both the men’s and women’s programs under one roof with equal amenities, a deliberate move by a club entering both competitions at the same time.
Tasmania Devils chair Grant O’Brien said the centre will include “probably the largest gymnasium and indoor training facility in the AFL.”
It will also feature a 2,000 square metre single-span indoor football training space, hydrotherapy and aquatic facilities, rehabilitation rooms, sports science areas, saunas, a large auditorium, a cafe, a retail store and administration offices.
Change rooms, offices and resources will be identical for the men’s and women’s programs.
O’Brien said the building would also carry “the 220 odd thousand names of the founding members who’ve supported our club from the beginning.”
Fairbrother chief Kurt Arnold said the build will run across a 22-month construction period, averaging around 110 workers on site and peaking at 150.
Some 440,000 work hours will go into the project, with around 30 apprentices across all trades expected on site throughout.
Arnold said the biggest challenge will be the sheer volume of earthworks required before the structure goes up.
The adjoining main oval will also be reshaped to MCG dimensions as part of the contract, giving the Devils a full-size training surface ready before preseason begins.
Devils women’s coach Georgia Walker said the indoor training space will be a genuine advantage in Tasmania’s conditions.
“We know Tassie gets cold and it gets wet at times, so us to be able to have a multipurpose area for education, walkthroughs for teams and individual as well, that’s gonna be a real advantage from a football development point of view,” she said.
The community will also have access to certain parts of the facility, including the indoor arena, auditorium and cafe – scheduled around the club’s training needs.
