AFL high performance centre at Kingston wins unanimous support from Kingborough councillors

The proposed new $70m home of the Tasmania Devils has received the full backing of the local council, which has labelled the proposed development a game-changer for the community.

Chair of the Tasmania Football Club, Grant O’Brien and Kingborough Mayor Paula Wriedt at the Twin Ovals in Kingston announcing that the Devils’ AFL high performance centre will be built at Kingston. Picture: Linda Higginson

The Kingborough Council has unanimously backed the Tasmania Devils AFL club to build its new home at Kingston’s Twin Ovals, with elected members predicting the development will be a “great win” for the local community.

The AFL’s preferred site for the team’s $70m high performance centre was originally in the Clarence municipality but the state government announced last month that the training base would now be built at the Kingborough Sports Precinct.

It followed an elector poll that found Clarence residents were split on the development, with 51 per cent supporting it being built at Rosny Parklands, but just 35 per cent supporting its construction across both the parklands and Charles Hand Park.

Concept design of proposed AFL High Performance Centre. Credit: Populous.

The government will contribute $60m to the project, while the AFL has committed $10m in funding and the council will provide the land for the facilities.

The high performance centre will serve as the Devils’ training and administrative headquarters and is set to be co-located with the Tasmania JackJumpers’ proposed new facilities.

At their final meeting of the year on Monday night, Kingborough councillors voted unanimously to formally support the AFL project.

Kingborough Mayor Paula Wriedt said the high performance centre would be “so much more” than just a hub for professional athletes.

“We are going to be the home of high level elite sports in Tasmania. We are going to be the hub of it, with two high performance centres,” she said.

“And it seems like the kids have really picked up on that, and it gives them something to aspire to and they think about being able to go down to Channel Court and see one of their sporting heroes walk past.”

Kingborough Mayor Paula Wriedt at the Twin Ovals in Kingston. Picture: Linda Higginson

While planning applications for the training base, new ovals, and associated infrastructure still need to be lodged, the council’s backing of the project will be seen as a step forward for the planned development.

Councillor Aldo Antolli said the facilities would have “statewide significance”.

“I think it’s a great win for us,” he said.

“This project will transform the Kingborough Sports Precinct into a hub for sports excellence, alongside the JackJumpers’ high performance centre … and it’s going to foster some great economic growth, some recreational opportunities, and social benefits for our municipality.”

Sports Minister Nick Duigan has said the high performance centre will be complete by the deadline of October 31, 2027, which was agreed to with the AFL.

Sports minister Nick Duigan discusses the AFL high performance centre location at Kingston in November. Picture: Linda Higginson

The Tasmanian men’s team will officially enter the national competition in 2028, while it is yet to be specified when the club’s AFLW side will join the league.

Councillors voted not only to back the high performance centre, but also to authorise chief executive officer Dave Stewart to begin negotiations with the government regarding a Heads of Agreement and transfer of the land required for construction.

The Department of State Growth commissioned SGS Economics and Planning to assess the economic benefits of the high performance centre, finding it would deliver a $55m boost to the Kingborough economy once operational.