Rodney Eade and Royce Hart react to Macquarie Point Stadium vote
Two of Tasmania’s finest football products believe the decision to pass the Macquarie Point Stadium development will have a massive impact on future generations.
Tasmanian football legend Rodney Eade believes Macquarie Point Stadium “will be a financial juggernaut” as the Devils took a major step forward to becoming the AFL’s 19th team.
It comes with Macquarie Point Stadium appearing set to pass through the upper house of Tasmanian parliament after key independents revealed they would vote in favour of the project.
The controversial project has been consistently debated among the Tasmanian community since it was announced.
But Eade is now hopeful opinions will start to turn.
“I think it will be financial juggernaut in many ways and the naysayers will see it’s a positive economic outcome for the state,” he told this masthead.
“The biggest insurance for making the team viable is a stadium deal. Every team here in Melbourne has a good stadium deal, they saw that as a must but I see wide ranging benefits for everyone in society.
“Having a stadium, not just a suburban arena, more people from interstate are going to come to Tasmania to watch a game. I know Collingwood when they played Fremantle in Perth, 4000 went over and it’s a four hour flight.
“Most supporters in Melbourne pick one game a year, possibly two, where they’ll go interstate. And they’ll go to Hobart or Launceston.
“Now it’s been run and won, now it’s been decided you don’t want any negativity or others fighting it which is going to be detrimental to the cause, we need to get behind it now, not just footy but everything the stadium can bring.”
Eade was also confident about the impact the Devils’ arrival could have at a community level.
“I was always confident but it’s relief at the end, obviously there’s some passionate people who didn’t want it to go ahead,” he said.
“I know some people say ‘why do it for footy’, but I think footy can be a real vehicle for not only footy but for communities around the state to drive different (non-football) programs but also generate local footy clubs.
“It’s going to be a positive for football and hopefully that can flow into the north and northwest clubs, the whole state can benefit from that.
“It will help other sports as well. I see the JackJumpers are backing it and cricket and netball, the health ramifications of kids getting involved in sport.”
Four-time Richmond premiership star and AFL hall of famer Royce Hart said future generations would benefit most.
“The kids are vitally important in this, if you just have a look at Brisbane and Sydney academies, the AFL are tipping in a huge amount of money into them and they produce opportunities for young kids,” he said.
There is no time frame on when the official vote will be completed with all 15 members of the upper house given an opportunity to put forward their opinion.
While the project will now be passed through parliament, the Devils license remains a provisional one until the AFL lifts those provisions.
A previous example is the Gold Coast Suns who became the league’s 17th team, officially entering in 2011.
After being given a provisional license in 2008, the final license wasn’t handed down until late in 2010 after the club had met a number of criteria.
The Devils aren’t expected to make an official statement until after the vote is completed.
Originally published as Rodney Eade and Royce Hart react to Macquarie Point Stadium vote
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