Stadium revamp closer
THE ambitious plan for a $208m redevelopment of the University of Tasmania Stadium has passed its first hurdle after being endorsed by the Launceston City Council.
The yet to be funded plan, pictured, would increase the venue’s capacity to 27,500, include the construction of a high-performance sports centre, as well as the development of a 5000-seat, multi-use indoor sports facility capable of hosting national-level sporting competitions and events. The next step is to send the plan to the state government.
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has previously shown some interest in the redevelopment, labelling it exciting, but was waiting for it to pass through council before commenting further on it.
The plan is for the redeveloped and expanded venue to be a home ground for a Tasmanian AFL club and as a second home for the Tasmanian JackJumpers in the NBL.
However, the Launceston City Council wants to pass on ownership — and all associated costs with its upkeep and running — to a governmentled trust model.
Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten said the benefits to the city of a redeveloped UTAS Stadium went far beyond the sporting sphere.
He said initial economic impact studies showed that a fully upgraded stadium and associated indoor sport and entertainment facility would inject about $62m a year into the local economy.
“(That is) in addition to the expected $60m to $70m direct economic contribution to Launceston and the broader northern region, which is based on attracting events that are not currently hosted at the stadium, including NBL and A-League games, large-scale concerts and one-off sporting and cultural events,” Mr van Zetten said.
In 2019, major events at the stadium attracted more than 83,000 people — including 63,400 for AFL and almost 22,000 for Big Bash matches – all of which represented a net economic benefit of more than $30m to the northern Tasmanian economy.
“This plan aims to meet growing community needs and expectations in terms of contemporary sporting infrastructure, as well as to cater to the needs of a future AFL team,” he said.