City of Launceston votes to transfer the ownership of UTAS Stadium to Stadiums Tasmania

The City of Launceston Council has this week passed a motion to end its ownership of the UTAS Stadium, transferring its responsibilities to the Stadiums Tasmania agency.

Welcoming the vote, Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood said while the venue provided significant economic returns for the state and the entire Northern Tasmanian region, its operation until now had been funded entirely by Launceston ratepayers.

Mayor Garwood explained “Stadiums Tasmania has been specially developed to ensure our premiere sporting facilities in Tasmania are managed by experts in a unified and strategic way.

“While our Council has done an incredible job managing this facility on behalf of our community for many decades, it’s really unusual in 2024 for a local council anywhere in Australia to operate and manage a stadium like UTAS Stadium.”

Noting that the operation of a contemporary high-level sporting and entertainment venue is a specialised field, and is not a core business for local government, Mayor Garwood added "on top of that, under Council ownership UTAS Stadium costs Launceston ratepayers around $5 million each year.

“That’s not a sustainable model moving forward and does not take into account the significant upgrades that will be required in coming years and decades.

“With the transition to Stadiums Tasmania, UTAS Stadium continues to be publicly-owned, and more than $130 million in investment will be unlocked through the State and Federal Governments for future upgrade works.”

Mayor Garwood confirmed that the City is also negotiating $1.5 million in funding from the Tasmanian Government to support site activation at the stadium following the transfer.

He added “this is an incredible opportunity for Launceston and Northern Tasmania, and will ensure UTAS Stadium remains a premiere sporting facility for our community for future generations."

Mayor Garwood said the decision at yesterday’s Council meeting represented the final step in a long process, first initiated by Council back in 2021 with the development of the York Park Future Directions Plan.

Image: Launceston's UTAS Stadium. Credit: City of Launceston.