Draft plan released for Hobart's AFL stadium precinct

The Macquarie Point Development Corporation has released a draft plan outlining the urban redevelopment that has Hobart's AFL stadium at its heart.

Following the receipt of more than 2,000 written submissions, the draft plan shows transportation corridors and developments will fit around the new 23,000-seat stadium.

In a statement released yesterday, Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the "urban renewal project", which includes a "multipurpose" AFL stadium, would be a "once-in-a-generation" infrastructure project for Hobart.

The plan from the Macquarie Point Development Corporation (MPDC), a Tasmanian Government agency, includes the new venue, an "Aboriginal culturally informed zone", Antarctic facilities, a mixed-use zone, residential apartment blocks and a public foreshore.

MPDC describe the Macquarie Point redevelopment as a "primary event venue" which will host events including "major sporting competitions, cultural festivals, music concerts, international artists and the expansion of Hobart's creative and cultural environment".

The plan notes a mixed-use zone in the south-east corner of the stadium along Evans Street will host restaurants, cafes, hotels, medical facilities and offices.

At Regatta Point, the plan sets out a series of apartment buildings and a public foreshore.

The Tasmanian Government has previously confirmed it plans to build medium-density housing at the site, with space for 120 apartments with some of the housing would be set aside specifically for health workers.

Speaking at Macquarie Point today, Premier Rockliff said the stadium was the "catalyst" for other investments in the precinct, noting “it's an opportunity to again create something truly Tasmanian, iconic, a great atmosphere and an eclectic mix of our heritage, our cultural heritage”.

A decade of plans for the re-development of Macquarie Point that predate the AFL stadium deal had envisaged an Aboriginal truth and reconciliation park at the site.

This will now be manifested as the "front face" of the precinct, which would be the side viewable for people walking to it from the CBD, as an Aboriginal "culturally informed zone".

The development does not include car parks for the venue, instead relying on a series of rapid bus stops to transport patrons to the stadium. A series of new bus stops will link to the Macquarie Point precinct via a new pedestrian and bike bridge.

The draft plan proposes that the AFL stadium and northern access road be built first, along with upgrades to Macquarie Wharf that would allow Australia's icebreaker, the RSV Nuyina, to berth there.

Residential buildings and the Aboriginal Truth and Reconciliation park would be next, with restaurants and other commercial spaces only being built in stage three.

No specific timeline for the build is set out, however, the Tasmanian Government's deal with the AFL has the stadium being finished in 2028/29.

Click here for more information on the MPDC website. 

Images: The concept art for the residential development and public foreshore to be built at Regatta Point (top), part of the new stadium pokes out between buildings in this concept design for Evans Street (middle) and the concept plan for the stages on the new precinct (below). Credit: Macquarie Point Development Corporation.