ANTI-stadium politicians from Tasmania met with AFL officials in Melbourne on Wednesday, but the League remains steadfast that a new stadium remains a condition of entry for the AFL’s proposed 19th team.
Approval for the proposed Macquarie Point venue in Hobart will come before state parliament in November, with a critical upper-house vote expected in December.
Construction of the stadium is a condition of the Tasmania Devils entering the AFL and AFLW competitions in 2028.
The venue is backed by the governing Liberals and Labor opposition, but opposed by the Greens and several cross-bench independents.
Greens MPs Vica Bayley and Cassy O’Connor and independents Kristie Johnston and Peter George had a 30-minute meeting with several AFL officials in Melbourne on Wednesday.
A render of the proposed new stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart. Picture: Macquarie Point Development Corporation
“We had some frank conversations. They were very clear their position is no stadium, no team,” Ms Johnston said.
“We put it to them that might have been the case a few years ago but now we have plenty of evidence that the stadium will have a detrimental effect on Tasmanians.
“It would be unconscionable for them to hold us to that condition of the deal.”
The stadium, which requires the green light from Tasmania’s parliament, is expected to sail through the lower house with Liberal and Labor support.
But it faces a tricky path in the upper house, with several independent MPs yet to declare which way they’ll vote.
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who inked the stadium deal, said he isn’t worried by the meeting, which included AFL chief operating officer Tom Harley.
Tom Harley watches Sydney training on June 5, 2025. Picture: Phil Hillyard
“There are 18 other (AFL) clubs that demand their players play in the best facilities possible,” he told reporters.
“There will be no team without this stadium and I’ve said that many, many times.”
The AFL said its position remained unchanged and the League was looking forward to the vote in parliament.
“AFL COO Tom Harley met with a delegation of two members of the Tasmanian Greens and two Independents today. He listened to a range of views and appreciated the group travelling to AFL House and putting those views forward,” an AFL statement said.
“The AFL’s continued position is a clear component of the licence bid from the Tasmanian taskforce was a new roofed stadium at Macquarie Point with a capacity of at least 23,000.
“It is a condition for the grant of the 19th licence and that position has not changed.
“The AFL look forward to the vote on the stadium in the coming weeks and the state continuing to build on the momentum and progress already made by the Tasmania Devils and their 214,000 members.”
The state’s planning commission recently determined the stadium’s costs outweigh its benefitsĀ and recommended it not go ahead, saying the venue was too big for its Macquarie Point site and construction would result in Tasmania taking on $1.8 billion in debt over a decade.
Under current timelines, the Devils are slated to play at Ninja Stadium (Bellerive Oval) in Hobart for their first season and shift to the new stadium in 2029.
The club has more than 200,000 members and will field VFL and VFLW teams next season as part of their build.
