{"id":249050,"date":"2025-10-29T16:49:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T16:49:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/249050\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T16:49:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T16:49:35","slug":"tasmanian-anti-stadium-mps-meet-afl-executives-but-no-ground-conceded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/249050\/","title":{"rendered":"Tasmanian anti-stadium MPs meet AFL executives but no ground conceded"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anti-stadium politicians from Tasmania have taken their fight to AFL headquarters<\/a>, but predictably neither side has shifted ground.<\/p>\n

Approval for the divisive $1.13 billion Hobart venue will come before state parliament in November, with a critical upper-house vote to decide the project\u2019s fate expected in December.<\/p>\n

Construction of the stadium is a condition of the Tasmania Devils entering the AFL and AFLW competitions in 2028.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today \"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

The venue is backed by the governing Liberals and Labor opposition, but opposed by the Greens and several influential crossbench independents.<\/p>\n

Greens MPs Vica Bayley and Cassy O\u2019Connor and independents Kristie Johnston and Peter George had a 30-minute meeting with several AFL officials in Melbourne on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put it to them that might have been the case a few years ago but now we have plenty of evidence that the stadium will have a detrimental effect on Tasmanians.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would be unconscionable for them to hold us to that condition of the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

The stadium, which requires the green light from Tasmania\u2019s parliament, is expected to sail through the lower house with Liberal and Labor support.<\/p>\n

But it faces a tricky path in the upper house, with several independent MPs yet to declare which way they\u2019ll vote.<\/p>\n

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who inked the stadium deal, said he wasn\u2019t worried by the meeting, which included AFL chief operating officer Tom Harley.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are 18 other (AFL) clubs that demand their players play in the best facilities possible,\u201d Harley told reporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be no team without this stadium and I\u2019ve said that many, many times.\u201d<\/p>\n

The AFL said its position remained unchanged and the league was looking forward to the vote in parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Tom Harley) listened to a range of views and appreciated the group travelling to AFL House and putting those views forward,\u201d a statement from the league said.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s planning commission recently determined the stadium\u2019s costs outweigh its benefits and recommended it not go ahead.<\/p>\n

The venue was too big for its Macquarie Point site and construction would result in Tasmania taking on $1.8 billion in debt over a decade, the commission said.<\/p>\n

Under current timelines, the Devils are slated to play at Bellerive Oval in Hobart for their first season and shift to the new stadium in 2029.<\/p>\n

The club has more than 200,000 members and will field VFL and VFLW teams next season as part of their build.<\/p>\n

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