Macquarie Point stadium: New 2.0 designs to be released within weeks as momentum grows

Developer Dean Coleman is buoyed by the state government’s “open minded” view of his design and plan to release images of the venue’s internal seating and playing surface as early as next week.

$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

Proponents of Macquarie Point Stadium 2.0 are buoyed by the state government’s “open minded” view of their innovative design and plan to release images of the venue’s internal seating and playing surface as early as next week.

Stadia Precinct Consortia chief Dean Coleman and his team have spent the week expanding their stakeholder engagement to all sides of politics as the stadium proposal gains momentum.

“We have been talking with the government for a number of months about our option,” Mr Coleman said.

“This week we have been doing a number of parliamentary briefings with all the various groups, including the Labor caucus, independents and [Hobart City] council.

“So it’s all going in the right direction.”

Various stakeholders, including the RSL and Royal Hobart Regatta Association, as well as tourism heavyweight Federal Hotels and former Tasmanian AFL star Nick Riewoldt, have recommended the government take a serious look at Coleman’s Macquarie Point vision.

Concept drawings of a Macquarie Point Stadium which includes an outer shell of apartments, proposed by the Stadia Precinct Consortia. Picture: SolutionsWon

The messaging has not gone unnoticed by Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who said on Monday it would be factored into any move they make going forward with the inter-generational Macquarie Point urban redevelopment.

“We will of course scrutinise the Stadium 2.0 proposal,” Mr Rockliff said.

“We want to ensure that we protect Tasmania’s interests but we’re open-minded and we look forward to further detail being presented.”

The Coleman proposal is for a $2.3bn Macquarie Point overhaul, funded mostly by the commercial sector, with the company guaranteeing a total taxpayer spend limited to $750m.

It includes a stadium half-built into the Regatta Point hillside, with a 5000-car subterranean carpark and public transport and freight access, and an the other side projecting into the Derwent with its outer wall made up of 450 private apartments, a hotel and convention centre, restaurants, retail space and a private hospital.

Coleman was buoyed to hear Mr Rockliff’s intention to investigate further.

“We welcome the positive feedback and we look forward to supplying him and his team with all of the information they require to see that our proposal is financially viable and economically a real boon for Tasmania,” Mr Coleman said.

Mr Coleman will soon release “further plans” for the design of the stadium.

“It will show the internal structure with seating and showing how we allow for expansion of capacity,” he said.

“It has no structural ramifications but we need to make sure that we build in scenarios for expansion into the future.”