Thousands march in support of new Hobart stadium and Tasmanian AFL team

On the day of the latest Tasmanian state election, thousands of people have marched through Hobart in support of the proposed new harbourfront stadium and the new Tasmanian AFL team.

The rally saw thousands march from the TCA Ground at Queens Domain to North Hobart Oval.

With the conflict over the rising cost of the proposed multi-purpose stadium one of the key issues prompting the latest election - the fourth in the state in seven years - the rally was organised by the ‘Yes AFL Team - Yes Stadium’ group, with organisers saying those participating in the march represent a "silent majority” who want the venue built.

Mark Brown, founder of the ‘Yes AFL Team - Yes Stadium’ group, organised the rally, which had been in the works for months and scheduled on a weekend with no local Australian rules being played.

He told reporters “the silent majority have now spoken up.

“The Greens, the independents who are against the stadium - they don’t speak for me. They don’t speak for the over 23,000 people in my group. They don’t speak for the people who showed up today.”

As reported by Pulse, Brown said pro-development voices had “sat back and not had a voice” for too long, while the “loud minority” of opponents dominated headlines and airtime.

With Tasmanians headed to the polls, Brown called on opponents to offer a clear alternative for boosting the state’s economy, commenting "if you’re going to vote against the stadium, what’s your alternative to bring in over $200 million into our economy a year?

“If we don’t build a stadium, we don’t have this money coming in that we can put further money into healthcare, education (and) housing.”

Brown pointed to an independent Hobart City Council report that estimated construction would pump half a billion dollars into the local economy over four years.

The current Liberal administration headed by Premier Jeremy Rockcliff has have pledged to push ahead with the stadium and its supporting legislation if re-elected.

The opposition Labor party is also backing the Macquarie Point venue while The Greens are opposing the development.

Early Election Result
Tasmania's Liberals under Premier Rockliff appear to have achieved a small swing of roughly 3% of the vote (40% of the two-thirds of the ballots counted0 in today's state election with his party securing 14 seats to Labor’s nine - with each party short of the 18 seats required for a majority.

While the Liberals failed to achieve the outright majority of seats that Premier Rockliff sought, he will be seeking to form Tasmania's next government and see through his agenda, which includes the new Hobart stadium.

Click here to view the ‘Yes AFL Team - Yes Stadium’ Facebook page.

Main image courtesy of the Yes AFL Team - Yes Stadium group. Video shows a newly recently video of the new Hobart Stadium from the Macquarie Point Development Corporation.