Macquarie Point Stadium: Mercury readers have their say on divisive project
The planning application for the Macquarie Point stadium has finally been lodged by the Macquarie Point Development Corporation (MPDC). The submission includes new plans and details. Here’s what hundreds of Mercury readers have said so far.
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New details were revealed about the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium, when the planning application for the divisive project was finally lodged. Here’s what readers of the Mercury think about the proposal so far.
Gin&tonic78
Four drone engines, one on each corner, fill the stadium with pollies and vvvrrrrooooommm out into space! I knew that it would be useful for something.
Kafka
Hundreds of thousands of Tasmanians will use the stadium every year, and I’ll be one of them. I don’t use public hospitals, or public schools, or public housing, but I’m happy for the Government to fund these things. I’d ask those who oppose the stadium to stop seeking to deny hundreds of thousands of Tasmanians the joy, pride and sense of belonging this stadium will bring for decades to come. Let us sporting enthusiasts enjoy government investment in something overwhelmingly positive, and put your energy into whatever floats your boat.
Sam
Reminds me of the argument to sell off 10 Murray Street to build Parliament Square. “We’ll all go there. It’ll be great. Hopefully there’ll be a giant tv to watch footy. It’s Hobart’s answer to Federation Square!” they all said.... Go check it out. It’s a barren wasteland. There’s never a soul there.
Chris
Great news. C’mon the Devils!?!
col
Amazing how all the naysayers have become charted accountants... we have reputable accountants like Saul Eslake who say the numbers stack up, but oh no, can’t be right. comical.
Nick
Good luck getting through the traffic for a game. A bit ironic that you can’t build a one bedroom unit without parking being provided but you can build a 23,0000 seat stadium and provide no parking. I support the stadium but have real concerns on parking and costs. KPMG have already called out that there is no provision for revenue generating infrastructure like kitchens etc in the numbers. Therefore we now need to add a further $14.3m for kitchen and food and beverage fitouts, $26.3m for audio-visual services, and $7.8m for LED ribbon advertising. Oh but we won’t spend more that $715 million which is now already over $800 million by my numbers.
Neil
The scope of the project has increased with a 3 level, 536 car, underground car park that is required for workers on the total urban development site but because of its proximity to the stadium it is best built at the same time as the stadium and the whole cost is being borne by the stadium.
Did you read Anne Beach’s comment that $775m is the figure for the POSS submission but they now have to go back and review the design to bring the cost back to the budget she has been given.
Olivia
Cue the chorus of “just build it”…yawn
David
Will there be any parking?
Gary
Time to start building!
Grant...... the other
hospitals don’t make money.... stop funding them too??
Kay
@Grant...... the other It’s really odd to see so many confuse essential services with expensive discretionary indulgence!
Kay
So the application makes it clear it won’t make money. Time to stop with the fiction that the taxpayer benefits. It is not an investment, it’s a liability, costing the taxpayer far more than it brings in. It doesn’t mention the subsidies that will be needed to attract big names, given no event held in Melbourne will come to Hobart. It doesn’t differentiate between events that would have been held at other venues, nor does it attempt to quantify the impact of losing those events on their viability. It certainly doesn’t look at the literature examining viability of stadia across the world, particularly in remote locations with tiny populations. All this and much more needs to be teased out as part of this process, and when it’s clear just how bad the proposal is for Tasmania, politicians of integrity will have no choice but to reject it.
Florence
Looks great!
Elaine
Seven games a year, harebrained!
roger
Multi purpose means not just afl.
Janette
Wow, it looks great. Who cares if there is a cost blow out, as the tax payers contribution is capped at $375m. It’s a false argument by the teeth nashers, mouth foaming naysayers..
damon
@Janette...it’s more about the honesty of the narrative they are selling the project on, doubling down and repeatedly saying the project will cost $715 million, which is now $770 million, when blind Freddy knows it will cost over $1 Billion by the time its completed in 2029, ultimately someone has to pay the blow out, and I’m picking the tax payer will foyt a good percent of it...
Olivia
@Janette as if it will be capped at 375 million…did you miss the efficiency dividend? Where do you reckon that’s going…
Rich
Any money provided by the private sector over and above $375 million, will need to be paid back with interest. Whether this is investment loans, or giving management of the ground to one of these firms, so the state can pay them an exorbitant amount each year to run it, makes no difference. It will all come from the state coffers, there is no way around that. It amazes me that people fall for this $375 million limit promise. They are weasel words.
The Red Bear
Ya just gotta love the greens, anti everything, let’s all keep Tasmania in the 1960’s (apart from the hydro dams of course)
Emily
It’s such an eyesore
Mark
I can guarantee that not one stadium critic will read the MPDC report, including the Greens.
Ld
@Mark Actually I imagine the Greens will be going though it with a fine-tooth comb!
Scott
What’s happened to the $2 Billion dollar stadium, spruced by greens and the naysayers!
Richard
Wonderful stuff. Great design, great investment. Looking forward to a transformative positive change to our city and state.
Steve
So it seems the $775 million is just for the stadium shell...Well i’ll be
Ld
Yep full stream ahead into serious debt for the state – Qld. is starting to look more appealing by the day!
john
60-70% of the 23,000 punters will be moved by public and alternative transport? What is this ‘alternative’ way of moving 10,000 people in an hour, teleportation? The city will have massive half-day traffic jams for each event.
Scott
@john , Have you heard of hotels, restaurants, Barrs etc… the flow to these will be massive after events, that’s where your other 10,000 people are!
Aimee
Can’t wait for the first traffic jam. Oh joy.
Dannielle
Ugly... it looks like the “NO” button on my desk!
And on that topic... No to the obvious traffic flow impacts, No to the negative revenue and debt, No to the impacts on the sightlines from the Cenotaph and elsewhere around our pretty waterfront. Who’s insane idea was this anyway? Move it elsewhere! Build a stadium when it makes financial sense for and to Tasmanians!
Rebecca
awesome work
Robert
(Edited)
What a joke. Already a 10 % increase in cost estimates. How are these estimates made and how rigorous and reliable ? This will end up costing way more than $1 billion. Meanwhile euphemistically called “efficiency dividends” will decimate essential services health,education,fire, police etc. in order to pay for this folly. On the bright side the AFL is chipping in a capped figure of $15million.
Aaron
The fact so many Tasmanians care about almost nothing other than AFL is a sign we are not a well-educated state and investment should urgently be made in the education system!
REH
How much will be too much for this AFL indulgence to proceed Premier Rockcliff? Football at any cost?
David
This should make interesting reading. Is 23,000 enough seats for football or should there be an allowance to expand to 30,000 in the event of high demand and sustained success?
Mighty Pies 2025
19 hours ago
Great times ahead! Now for the RSL rhetoric and Greens Party alliance to cease. It’s happening
Ryan
Another step forward. Bring it on!
Robert
I would say ‘One step forward and two steps back’.
Brett
This cost blowout for the stadium is just the beginning. From $715M to $775M already and it’s not expected to be operational until 2029’s AFL season. Can only imagine the cost to blow out past $1B once it’s finished. Who’s on the hook for the additional cost, the taxpayers I bet.
Matt
The current seating design can be expanded without the roof being removed – but not to 40k – I believe the architects said it could get to around 28.
FIFA require minimum 14 stadia with seating of 40k for a world cup – and at least 4 must be existing stadia. Australia is never going to host because we dont have the venues suitable for the world game to do that – we have 3 rectangle venues that can hold 40k+, the rest are AFL/Cricket ovals
David
A nearly ten percent increase isn’t an increase, rather “working through a design process”. Can Ms Beach provide me with a term to mitigate my mood for the last time i stood on the bathroom scales.
John
(Edited)
The article says ‘private investors’ will meet the funding shortfall.
What happens if these private investors decide not to put their hands up?
Will the AFL, being a ‘private investor’ go into their very deep coffers and offer the needed money or will they walk away from the entire venture?
Robert
Is that the Richmond Football Club that wasn’t able to get any private funding for their Punt Rd development. Their HPC upgrade is being funded by state and federal governments with there hands now out to members for donations with limited private interest. Seems this football business is a continual drain on resources...
The other Paul
You forgot the additional $40 million for the other essentials that haven’t been costed. That takes it to $815 million... $100 million increase from six weeks ago and we haven’t turned a sod yet. Who would have doubted Rockliff’s continued rhetoric that this project would be built on budget for $715 million.
Adrian
Don’t bet your house on ever seeing the “flood” of benefits that you envisage. I for one will be dead long before that happens.
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