AFL: Devils boss Brendon Gale calls for review of reports which damn Macquarie Point Stadium build

Tasmania Devils boss Brendon Gale has questioned the accuracy of reports damning the Macquarie Point Stadium, declaring the club won’t survive without the infrastructure.

Macquarie Point Stadium. Picture: Supplied

Tasmania Devils boss Brendon Gale has questioned several recent reports which have damned the Macquarie Point Stadium build and called for a review to test their accuracy.

As Premier Jeremy Rockliff explores other avenues outside the Project of State Significance process to ensure the 23,000-seat roofed stadium gets off the ground, Gale said the Tasmanian Football Club could not survive without it.

The Devils women are due to enter the AFLW in 2027 and the men make their debut in the AFL in 2028, and despite being years away from any of its teams kicking a ball, the TFC already has a record membership of nearly 210,000.

But crucially, under its licence agreement, the Devils can only continue to exist if the stadium is built.

Brendon Gale is welcomed as inaugural CEO of Tasmania Football Club in Penguin Tasmania. Picture: Tasmania Football Club

“I cannot stress enough the importance of this infrastructure to our club — put simply, without it we do not exist,” Gale said.

“There is very sound reason for that, as the stadium will set us up for long-term success, an aspiration that we should all hold for our club.

“I am committed to making sure this club does not ‘make up the numbers’ in the AFL, but instead, is a club that we can all be proud of and aspire to be a part of both on and off the field.

“Tasmanians and our fans deserve that. The stadium is a critical ingredient to us achieving that.”

Doctor Nicholas Gruen. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The Gruen Report assessing the project, by Dr Nicholas Gruen, particularly raised Gale’s eyebrows.

“The Tasmania Planning Commission has placed great reliance on the Gruen Report. The Tasmania Football Club has also reviewed this report and would also contest several of the assumptions that are relied upon in this report,” Gale said.

“We would welcome a full review of these assumptions to test their veracity.”

The result of the Project of State Significance is due to be handed down later this year.

Under fire in Parliament this week, Mr Rockliff said he was determined to get the stadium built.

“You say that the state cannot afford to build the stadium. I say that Tasmania cannot afford not to build the stadium because we would lose so much opportunity,” Mr Rockliff said.

“I am not going to let this state be seen as a place that you cannot invest. I will never give in to the negative and the naysayers that align with everything that you say, because that is in your political interests.

“It is in the state’s interest that this stadium infrastructure goes ahead.”

Gale said projects like the stadium were “complex”.

“There are always varied views on them, that is ok, and we should be comfortable for that is a part of the process,” he said.

“The Tasmania Football Club wholly believes in this project, not just for our club, but for the many direct and indirect opportunities and benefits that it will create for Tasmania and Tasmanians.”

An assessment panel investigating the Macquarie Point Stadium project this week claimed it would do nothing to inspire Tasmania’s youth to greatness, but AFL Tasmania boss Damian Gill said that could not be more wrong.

“We are already seeing a wave of momentum in junior participation in Tasmania off the back of the excitement of the Tasmanian Football Club – with much of the growth experienced in the south of the state,” Gill said.

“We know what AFL clubs and major events do to generate more inspiration and aspiration in communities.

“Events leave lasting participation legacies, Queensland for example are still feeling a participation surge off the back of the 2020 Grand Final – with participation numbers in the state almost doubling since.

“The Tasmanian Football Club is already having an impact with participation growing 27 per cent last year, including a massive 38 per cent jump in NAB AFL Auskick.

“Southern Tasmania saw an incredible uplift of 104 per cent in Auskick last year and this momentum will only build further as our teams take shape.”

Gale has been in his Devils CEO role for two months.

“One thing that I have observed in my travels around the state and discussions with Tasmanians is that we do not yet fully understand the opportunity that this club can create for this state,” he said.

“As a club, we will continue to do the right thing and earn the trust of the Tasmanian community.

“This club has the potential to be enormous for Tasmania, it will bring economic, social and cultural impact that we have not seen before.

“To achieve that though, we must invest, and we must be brave.”

Originally published as AFL: Devils boss Brendon Gale calls for review of reports which damn Macquarie Point Stadium build