Which I think will be exactly what happens here so we just need to get it to that stage and then I can see people getting on board just like they have with the JackJumpers who have converted so many people down here across the entire state and really brought a new life to basketball in the state. Same with the Hobart Hurricanes - there was a lot of skepticism (including from myself I think) about the move from state based teams to city named teams for a state like us but they have managed to unite the state and get support across the whole state. Branding themselves as āTasmaniaās Teamā definitely does help that.
1 Like
Physical distance has very little to do with it - this is something that has existed in one shape or form since convict settlement due to the way that the state was settled. Itās become ingrained in the stateās culture and operation, making it incredibly difficult (if not impossible) to dispense.
Tasmaniaās population distribution is also incredibly unique - more people live outside the stateās capital than live in it. While services and economic activity tend to gravitate toward the capital - itās doing so toward a minority population base creating a unique inequity (at least in Australian terms)
A divided critical mass isnt really a critical mass - whether that be ideological, physical or some other kind of divide.
I think youāve misunderstood the point - the comment wasnāt about spending mainland money in Tasmania, it was about spending money on what is basically a hobby horse for Gil and the AFL. The AFL is putting the square root of jackshit into this arrangement yet seems to be calling the shots and forcing two levels of Government to pour a lot of money into something that has questionable value in a number of respects (stadia are poor investments, their benefit is significantly outweighed by the cost)
Thatās incredibly poor governance if there is no way to exit - that said, it may be cheaper to pay out the agreement than to build the infrastructure.
Complaining after it was built is a pointless exercise - the deed is done. Both the SFS and Parramatta Stadium rebuilds were controversial - the SFS especially given it was effectively a Government agency that guilted its way to a rebuild by refusing to resolve long-standing compliance issues with the structure that wedged the Government into a decision.
2 Likes
Yes I have heard the ādecentralisedā population argument for Tasmania before, but sorry itās laughable when the entire state is so small. The whole state is centralised lol. When you have 200km between Launceston and Hobart, to someone in Sydney, Melbourne, South-East Queensland or Perth that seems like itās the same place! Drive 200km, or 2 hours, in any of those metro areas and youāve barely left them. I also donāt accept that they canāt change their outlook because of history. Things change, roads and mobility improves. A 2 hour drive is nothing. They need to change like the rest of the country.
The venue will be known as Go Media Stadium, after Auckland Stadiums signed a commercial naming rights agreement with outdoor advertising company Go Media for 12 months, with a view to making it a multiyear arrangement.
3 Likes
Two hours from Launceston to Hobart - although at the moment with roadworks it is longer. Itās gone from about 3 hours to regularly well over 4 between Devonport and Hobart and you can add another half an hour to Burnie and an hour from there to Smithton, all reasonable size population bases. The idea of things being in Launceston did mean that 2 hours for Hobart was comparable to 2.5 hours for Smithton and 2 hours for the East Coast and about 3.5 hours for the West Coast.
3 Likes
Thanks for the info. Still seems all really close to a Queenslander lol. Brisbane to Rockhampton is 7 hours and Brisbane to Cairns is 19 hours! Getting to Noosa from Brisbane is 2 hours on a good day, usually 3 on weekends.
2 Likes
Yep, but are people going Brisbane to Cairns for a day trip to the footy? Rhetorical question! At the moment, people do travel from the NW to the footy and the cricket and have it as a day trip - partly to save money without needing to book a hotel but because it is a small distance tooā¦ also because Hobart City Council sold most of the hotels to UTAS over the past few years too but weāve covered that one lol.
2 Likes
Not from Cairns or Townsville unless they fly - which they do! People do however drive to Brisbane from places like Bundaberg, which is about 4.5 hours. I have relatives that do this often for games at Suncorp stadium. Also for concerts, medical appointments and major surgeries.
1 Like
1 Like
Bit hard to do with a landlocked ground in a residential area with little area to work with. Without building projects to consider thereās the issue of not being allowed more than 10 events with the lights on, most of which are taken up by the Hurricanes (Subiaco Oval had similar issues with 12 their limit). Therefore major amounts of even twilight matches/FTA Sunday games are out of the question. Then in order to increase capacity theyād need to find somewhere for the Cricket Tasmania/Clarence Cricket Club to base themselves, acquire housing at the Church St end which would be disastrous politically (housing crisis), substantially increase public transport infrastructure for an entire community with pretty much no parking around the ground (and ferries can only run so quickly and frequently)ā¦
3 Likes
I wonder if this stadium is the type of thing that can trigger a big wave of single issue independents/ minor party candidates to get elected?
Didnāt all those greens in Brisbane get elected off the back of an anti-airport runway campaign? Not too dissimilar.
In Tasmania, a hung parliament must be very possible.
1 Like
With the multi-member electorates itās a regular prospect. 5 electorates, 5 members each (soon to go back up to 7 I believe) but itās usually 2 Lib, 2 Lab and the final spot to either of the 3 (Lib, Lab or Greens/an independent if one running) so it all gets quite even.
1 Like
As someone who lives in one of those Brisbane electorates I think the airport runway only played a minor part. The bigger influences are changing demographics in those inner Brisbane seats and the anti-Liberal sentiment which didnāt all flow to Labor. In the absence of Teal independants in those seats, some of that vote went to the Greens. I suspect one or two will swing back to Labor next time.
1 Like
With the Hobart stadium situation quite literally dividing the state and putting the Tassie team into a degree of peril, I do wonder at what point the Tasmanian government has to consider alternative options to the brand new stadium at Macquarie Point.
Just thinking out aloud, would it be feasible to perhaps refurbish somewhere like North Hobart Oval (which appears to be a much better spot than Bellerive at the very least for accessibility), drop the roof idea from the first part of the development (but leave the ability to add it on later in place), and, in order to reduce opposition from the northern part of the state, take the opportunity and build a medium speed rail line that gets from Hobart to Launceston in say 90-120 minutes, and eventually extended onwards to Devonport and Burnie.
1 Like
Hey, only just saw this one. Unfortunately, I donāt think any of those ideas are really possible. North Hobart oval already a bit of a nightmare when football is on. Iāve got a relative who lives nearby and she hates it all with a passion because of the traffic and people blocking all the driveways etcā¦
The roof was a requirement from the AFL and I know Tasmanians donāt want me saying it but I think itās a necessity to get the crowds, Hobart in particular donāt turn up in the wet to events like this unless theyāre diehard fans so on a cold, wet, wintry afternoon youāve got more chance of people going to an inside game than outside.
Rail would be fantastic but the network needs to be completely rebuilt - if people are worried about the $375m for the stadium, Iād hate to think how they feel about several billion for the rail upgrades. Currently itās about a 10 hour trip I think from Burnie to Brighton. Thatās also one of the other issues, the network now terminates at Brighton with no provision for rail included in the replacement Bridgewater Bridge so thereād be no way of getting that last half an hour to there plus thereās no rail anywhere near North Hobart oval.
Unfortunately, the things have already been investigated and weāve been given the best option - the stadium at Mac Point, land which has remained empty for decades and suddenly only has plans made for it after this was released.
The Tasmanian budget is being released today which includes the Tasmanian commitment for the stadium plus rumoured to have an additional $900m for health as well on top of all the extra stuff so that destroys several of the arguments from people so weāll see what happens. In the last couple of days though I think the yes campaign has been getting a lot more support - slowly getting their message across, getting some big names and not speaking all the doom and gloom of the no people who have locked their facebook support group and only allow posts saying the same negative things and not allowing any corrections. Their own little echo chamber.
3 Likes
The Tasmanian budget announced today would deliver the first $230 million of state government contribution towards the new Macquarie Point stadium, with the rest of the money flowing in 2028 and 2029. Thereās also operational funding to help cover the new clubās set-up costs.
2 Likes
Thanks for the comprehensive reply, not being from Tassie myself itās good to get a perspective from someone there. Didnāt realise North Hobart has the issues it had (just looked like a good spot from the map), in that case Macquarie Point does definitely make more sense.
Unfortunately Iām aware that the reality is thereās not that great an appetite for new rail builds outside of the major metro areas and their surrounds, due to the costs involved and lack of political will, which is a bit of a shame really.
3 Likes
Can we have new plastic seats at McDonald Jones Stadium? I sat on a few that felt like they were about to break and not because of my fat arse.
3 Likes
The ground is too tiny in terms of ground dimensions and potential spectator expansion points. Behind the goals at one end is the North Hobart Bowls Club, a problem which Essendon knew all too well when they wanted to revamp Windy Hill before building their Tullamarine base. The broadcast wing is now flanked by a motel/apartment complex, the outer is landlocked with residences on the other side (and that stand on the outer wing has had to be rebuilt in the last few years after it was burnt down by squatters), and in order to bring the ground up to Menās AFL specs theyād need to lengthen the ground by about 10-15m.
There were other venues mentioned in the past, but Glenorchyās KGV ground was considered too far out of town to be a viable option, ditto the Showgrounds which has basically remained the same since the trots and greyhounds went to Elwick. There was talk of the TCA even getting an upgrade but issues with heritage listings quickly put paid to that.
3 Likes
I suspect (as a Hobartian) itās not about the stadium or the location, or the AFL teamā¦Its the anti-everything group looking for something to protest against.
Tasmania has a long proud history of well organised, well funded anti groupsā¦The Greens, BBF to name two.
If they donāt have a cause, they become irrelevant, and I suspect were in that general area with the anti-stadium group.
3 Likes