The redevelopment, designed by Populous and Philp Lighton Architects, will carry mass timber glulam columns and beams across the new Centre West Stand fa\u00e7ade and concrete and mass timber plates across the inside of the redeveloped Eastern Stand roof and concourse seating, with off-site prefabrication of the glulam frame chosen to cut on-site construction time and lower the building\u2019s embodied carbon.<\/p>\n
Engineers are now driving 20-metre steel piles through layers of soft mud and 19th-century buried fill into bedrock to stabilise the site, where the water table sits just 200 millimetres below the surface across what was originally swampland and Launceston\u2019s mid-1800s landfill before becoming the city\u2019s showgrounds.<\/p>\n
A 19,000-square-metre field reconstruction is also underway to prevent flooding across the playing surface, with the existing ground remaining open for AFL, AFLW, VFL and Big Bash League fixtures throughout the construction phase.<\/p>\n
The radiata pine has been sourced from Australian plantations, with the timber chosen over a steel alternative on grounds of construction speed and carbon emissions.<\/p>\n Tasmanian builder Fairbrother (also the contractor behind St Luke\u2019s, the tallest mass timber building in the state<\/a>) is rolling out the works in phased completions, with the Western Stand Infill Seating due September 2026, the redeveloped Eastern Stand carrying 3,629 new seats due by March 2027, and the new Centre West Stand scheduled for October 2027.<\/p>\n The redeveloped venue, jointly funded with $65 million each from the Australian and Tasmanian Governments, sits on an oval-shaped ground that already hosts Hobart Hurricanes Big Bash League fixtures, AFLW, VFL, and North Launceston Football Club matches, alongside Hawthorn\u2019s four AFL home games each year.<\/p>\n \u201cLaunceston already has a great sporting legacy, and this project will ensure that continues for generations to come,\u201d Jess Teesdale, the Federal Member for Bass, said at the September 2025 works launch, where she also pointed to the significantly increased crowd capacity expected once the new stands come online.<\/p>\n Federal Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King welcomed the works at the same launch, saying she could not wait to see her beloved Richmond Tigers play the Tasmania Devils at the upgraded venue once the new club enters the AFL.<\/p>\n It comes as Tasmania Devils CEO Brendon Gale confirmed earlier this month that the AFL\u2019s 19th team remained locked in for a Round 1, 2028 entry, with Hobart\u2019s Macquarie Point Stadium<\/a> pushed back to early-to-mid 2030 and the Devils\u2019 first match at the new Hobart venue likely to fall in Round 1, 2031.<\/p>\n Until Macquarie Point opens, Gale told SEN\u2019s Dwayne\u2019s World, the Devils will split home games between Hobart\u2019s Ninja Stadium and the redeveloped UTAS Stadium, leaving Launceston\u2019s glulam-and-concrete venue to carry the bulk of the club\u2019s northern fixture list across the first three AFL seasons.<\/p>\n The Centre West Stand, the new Eastern Stand and the Western Stand Infill Seating will combine to deliver an AFL Tier 2 venue at full capacity for the start of the 2028 AFL season, when the Tassie Devils run out for their first home fixture in Launceston.<\/p>\n Jason Ross, publisher, is a 15-year professional in building and construction, connecting with more than 400 specifiers. A Gottstein Fellowship recipient, he is passionate about growing the market for wood-based information. Jason is Wood Central’s in-house emcee and is available for corporate host and MC services.<\/p>\n<\/a>The Centre West Stand site was fenced off and stripped to bare ground earlier this year, with 20-metre steel piles being driven through layers of soft mud and 19th-century buried fill to reach bedrock beneath the former swampland. (Photo Credit: Duo Projects)<\/p>\n
The redeveloped UTAS Stadium, with the new Eastern Stand and Plaza shown in dotted outline against the existing oval-shaped ground. The new Eastern Stand will carry covered stadium seating, hospitality, food and beverage, and amenities across 3,629 new seats due by March 2027. (Image: ABC News \/ Stadiums Tasmania)<\/p>\n
The new Centre West Stand at UTAS Stadium is illuminated for night-time fixtures, with the curved mass-timber roof and glulam-clad fa\u00e7ade rising above the new plaza level, which is set to handle pedestrian traffic into the redeveloped venue. (Render: Populous \/ Stadiums Tasmania)<\/p>\n
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