Scorched earth policy: Government says Mac Point 2.0 proposal is ‘dead, buried, and cremated’

A senior government minister has declared the Mac Point 2.0 stadium proposal is “dead, buried, and cremated”, and accused its key backers of endangering the state’s AFL dream.

$2.3 billion precinct-scale urban renewal project, including roofed AFL stadium, for Hobart. Managing Director of Stadia Precinct Consortia Dean Coleman. Picture: Chris Kidd

A senior Tasmanian government minister has declared the Mac Point 2.0 stadium proposal is “dead, buried, and cremated”, and accused the alternative plan’s chief backers – Dean Coleman, and former premier Paul Lennon – of beginning to endanger the state’s AFL dream.

Following Stadia Precinct Consortium general manager Mr Coleman’s claims that an upcoming meeting with Department of State Growth officials represented the chance for his $2.3bn project to finally “getting some traction” with the government, Minister for Business, Industry and Resources, Eric Abetz, said the sit-down had been arranged solely as a post-mortem of the failed infrastructure bid.

“Mr Coleman requested the meeting with DSG in response to the Office of the Coordinator General’s offer to provide feedback on why the proposal has been assessed and rejected,” Mr Abetz told the Mercury.

Minister for Business, Industry and Resources Eric Abetz speak to the media at Parliament Square in Hobart on Tuesday, December 10, 2024.

“Their unsolicited budget proposal doesn’t stack up.

“It is dead. Buried. Cremated.

“It’s not happening.”

Mr Abetz also launched a personal broadside against both Mr Coleman and Mr Lennon, saying their ongoing advocacy for the alternative proposal was hurting Tasmania’s chances of securing its place in the AFL and AFLW competitions, which is conditional on the construction of a roofed stadium being built at Macquarie Point.

“If Mr Coleman and Mr Lennon truly want a Tasmanian AFL team, then they will cease their disingenuous, damaging political games,” the Minister said.

But Mr Coleman hit back at the Minister’s comments, maintaining that he was never told the meeting with Office of the Coordinator General was about the proposal’s rejection, and saying he viewed the talks to be held later this month as a “constructive opportunity” to meet Tasmania’s needs.

Mr Coleman said SPC was now awaiting the detailed departmental analysis on the design and economic feasibility of Mac Point 2.0, which includes a 23,000-seat multi-purpose stadium with a retractable roof at Regatta Point, social and affordable housing, luxury apartments, and retail tenancies.

Concept drawings of a new design for a Macquarie Point Stadium by the Stadia Precinct Consortia led by Dean Coleman and Paul Lennon. Picture: SolutionsWon

“The Mac Point 2.0 precinct proposal represents a fiscally responsible, once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Tasmania’s economic and cultural landscape,” he said.

“The Stadia Precinct Consortium firmly believes that the Tasmanian public deserves a fair and transparent, independent comparison between the Mac Point 1.0 and Mac Point 2.0 proposals.

“The significant investment of time, resources, and expertise contributed by our consortium, and all Tasmanian stakeholders to this community-based precinct proposal, warrants such a comparison.”

Mr Coleman also rejected Minister Abetz’s assertion that either he or Mr Lennon were jeopardising Tasmania’s hopes of AFL participation with their advocacy of the SPC proposal, saying Tasmanians deserved a robust debate about the respective merits of the rival stadium visions.

“SPC is comprised of a team of experienced professionals who are united in their commitment to this project, and we believe it is unnecessary to single out or place undue targets on the backs of just two individuals,” Mr Coleman said.

$2.3 billion precinct-scale urban renewal project, including roofed AFL stadium, for Hobart. Stakeholder relations Paul Lennon and Managing Director of Stadia Precinct Consortia Dean Coleman at Macquarie Point. Picture: Chris Kidd

The spat comes less than a fortnight after an independent economic report blasted the state government’s proposal to build a stadium at Macquarie Point, saying the wrong site had been selected, and that the project’s costs had been significantly underplayed.

The 170-page paper, authored by Dr Nicholas Gruen’s and commissioned as part of the government’s confidence and supply agreement with the Jacqui Lambie Network, found the project was exhibiting the “hallmarks of mismanagement”, with the estimated $775 million construction cost estimate more likely to top $1.1bn.

The Rockliff government has promised to cap public funding for the roofed stadium at $375m, while the federal government has promised $240m, and the AFL another $15m.

Originally published as Scorched earth policy: Government says Mac Point 2.0 proposal is ‘dead, buried, and cremated’