When it comes to Tasmania’s deal with the AFL for a team of its own, the devil really is in the detail.
Especially when it comes to the construction timeline for the new Macquarie Point stadium, which will serve as not only the financial linchpin for the club, but also its biggest player attraction magnet.
Devils’ debut in new stadium not expected until 2031
You could be forgiven for thinking the Devils would be playing at the venue from 2030.
After all, that seemed to be the impression the Devils themselves had late last year, following parliamentary approval of the build.
“It’s probably an assumption internally that we’ll be playing games in Hobart and Launceston at Bellerive and York Park for two years,” the club’s chief executive Brendon Gale said at the time.
Originally, the Devils were supposed to move into their new home in 2029 — per a stipulation in the government’s agreement with the AFL that the stadium would be built by the end of 2028.
About three months ago, Brendon Gale said there was an “assumption internally” the Devils would start playing in the stadium from 2030. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
A snap election last year, and that parliamentary approval being delayed pushed that timeline back.
In the background, the Devils, the government and the AFL were all on the same page — happy to wear the political delay as the price of business.
But that one-year wait will now become two, upon confirmation the Macquarie Point Development Corporation (MPDC) is working to a separate date found deeper in the agreement.
December 30, 2030 is the date upon which the stadium must be complete — no ifs, no buts — if the government wants to keep its AFL team.
And the MPDC intends to soak up every minute of that allowed time to deliver the stadium, which is set to cost $1.13 billion to build.
Tasmania was officially granted a licence for a team in the AFL competition back in May 2023. (ABC News: Luke Bowden)
That means the Devils won’t make their Macquarie Point debut until the 2031 AFL season.
The corporation is well within its rights to take its time.
It has a huge job on its hands to deliver the stadium, while complying with more than 140 permit conditions on a tricky site and managing its budget to the dollar.
Anne Beach, the chief executive of MPDC, insists she and the corporation have never deviated from that date, consistently saying that they are “working to the contract timelines”.
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She’s technically not wrong, even if “contract timelines” may have been interpreted by the public or the club as 2029 or even 2030.
At a public accounts committee hearing last month, she highlighted the difference between the stadium being practically and operationally complete, while pointing out that more would be known following the construction tender process.
Earlier this week, she doubled down and reiterated that things like turf growth are time-intensive.
But given Brendon Gale’s comments late last year and broader community expectation, it may come as a surprise to some that the Devils won’t in fact be playing at Macquarie Point until at least their fourth season in the league.
A stipulation in the deal between the AFL and the Tasmanian government says the stadium must be built before December 30, 2030. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
It’ll come as news to the 30 or so interstate player agents who toured the state last month, many of whom departed the state believing their superstar footballer clients could be lining up under the roof in round one, 2030.
So where has the confusion come from?
Minister for Macquarie Point Urban Renewal Eric Abetz says he’s “comfortable” with a 2031 start date for the Devils, conceding only now that the entirety of the allowed time in the contract would be needed.
“The contract time will, I think, be needed to get us ready for the 2031 season,” he said.
The government, of course, would have hoped the Devils would be in sooner, with Mr Abetz saying “yesterday” would be the ideal date for the stadium to have been built.
Eric Abetz says he’s “comfortable” with the Devils not getting into their new stadium until at least 2031. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
So for how long has the government known that a 2029, or even 2030, start date has been off the cards?
If the community and club’s expectation was the Devils would be at Macquarie Point sooner, should the government have more proactively disclosed the precise date it believes its largest ever project may be complete?
Perhaps it’s a case of needing to better read the fine print.
Playing in the Macquarie Point stadium is expected to be a key selling point as the Devils look to attract star players. (AAP: James Ross)
What ramifications may it have for the football club, desperate to land superstar players early?
Will those players be happy spending another of their prime years at Bellerive Oval?
What of membership numbers and those members of the public being asked to commit hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars towards signing up, with the stadium still five years away?
And that’s with the build going to plan.
Already, the government owes the club $4.5 million for every season past 2028 that the stadium is incomplete.
That’s a handy financial safety net for the Devils, but no amount of money would compensate for the loss of, say, a Nick Daicos, for who the stadium and the prime-time broadcast slots it brings would be a factor.
Anne Beach has stressed that the MPDC has always been “working to the contract timelines”. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)
With the Spirit of Tasmania ferries saga ongoing, Tasmanians are more wary than most of project timelines.
A cynical view might be that a 2031 move-in date would be acceptable, such is the propensity for timeline blowouts on mega projects such as the stadium.
And for a state that has waited almost 40 years for its team to exist, perhaps an extra year to see it in its new home might not be too high a price to pay.