Macquarie Point stadium can eclipse Adelaide Oval success, says Crows boss John Olsen

Adelaide Crows chairman John Olsen AO has urged Tasmania to ride the bumps on its journey to a new Macquarie Point stadium. What he says the stadium can bring to Tassie:

Former South Australian Premier and chair of Adelaide Football Club John Olsen in Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Former South Australian premier and current Adelaide Crows chairman, John Olsen AO, has urged Tasmania to ride the bumps on its journey to a new Macquarie Point stadium, saying the state must never compromise on it long-held AFL dream.

During a visit to Tasmania to share his experiences driving the successful redevelopment of Adelaide Oval a decade ago, Mr Olsen said Hobart stood to reap the same social and financial benefits the South Australian capital continued to derive from its multi-purpose stadium.

Mr Olsen said while the revamp of Adelaide’s traditional sporting hub had initially faced significant opposition, the resulting overhaul was now a much-loved community asset that boosted state pride and generated more than $330 million in economic activity each year.

Former South Australian Premier and Chair of Adelaide Football Club John Olsen in Hobart. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

“What we went through with Adelaide Oval is not dissimilar to what’s happened down here, with all the questions and the naysayers,” the former premier said.

“But you’d be hard-pressed to find anybody in South Australia now that is opposed to what the place has become.

“The oval had something like 1800 functions and events this year, employing 200 full-time staff and more than 1300 casuals.

“We host monster trucks, nitro circuses, concerts, weddings, funerals, and receptions, and our facilities attract major conferences involving companies from the Eastern Seaboard.

“So the economic plan of Adelaide Oval has far exceeded initial expectations, and its success has been the catalyst for very significant private-sector development on the other side of the River Torrens.”

Detailed plans for Hobart’s new AFL stadium reveal an immediate $60m cost blowout, high visual impacts and negative cost-benefit analysis, but mark a significant milestone in advancing the project. Pictures: supplied

While moving the home of South Australian football from Football Park in suburban Adelaide to the edge of the CBD was initially a controversial one, Mr Olsen said locals were quickly converted to the benefits of a centralised location and superior public transport services.

And while the city itself had undergone an undeniable stadium-driven renaissance, the entire state was benefiting from the Oval’s redevelopment, Mr Olsen said.

“Whether it’s the convention centre, casino, or the laneway wine bars, it’s now a very vibrant city on game day and during other events, and it’s really changed the structure of the CBD,” he said.

“But you will have a unique stadium with a roof, and so have an advantage over every other stadium in Australia, and be the new benchmark as a concert venue.

“And you’ll be surprised how conferences moving around the country wanting to go somewhere different, they’ll come here.

Artist’s concept of the Macquarie Point stadium. Pictures: supplied

“There are so many economic add-ons that you won’t believe until they happen, but the example of Adelaide Oval demonstrates how it can happen.”

The Crows chairman said his club had been “100 per cent supportive” of Tasmania’s ultimately successful application for a 19th AFL license, but warned that key infrastructure had to be planned and delivered correctly to ensure the Devils had the best chance of long-term success once their journey began in 2028.

“My main message in supporting the Tasmanian Football Club is to simply say ‘stay the course’ on the new stadium, because what you are doing is right,” Mr Olsen said.

“The benefit for Tasmania will be extraordinary, and people will see that in the fullness of time and then back the project wholeheartedly.

“At Adelaide Oval, we tried to adopt some of the suggestions that came forward, but at the end of the day you cannot compromise on the final product, because it’s critical for what it will generate for the state.”