Push to boost Hobart stadium capacity
The first round of tenders for the Macquarie Point stadium have landed — and so has the bill.
There are two builders in the process and the commercial details of their submissions are confidential, but those familiar with the numbers told Scoop in September the news is not good.
At least $250 million over budget worth of not good.
But nor are the estimates of what it will cost to build the playing home of the AFL’s 19th team catastrophic. Especially when you consider the doomsayers (Al Nicholson, I promise I’m not one of them) had the tender price coming back at up to half a billion dollars over budget.
Still, $250-$350 million is not nothing.
It leaves Macquarie Point Development Corporation with the unenviable task of heading back to the Tasmanian government looking for considerably more cash.
Here is where it gets interesting.
Rather than respond to a cost blowout by shrinking the project as it evaluates the tenders, Macquarie Point wants to go the other way.
Make it bigger.
Scoop understands one option being considered by the corporation is to increase the capacity of the stadium to as many as 30,000 people (from the originally planned 23,000).
The argument being put forward is that a larger capacity would improve the stadium’s ability to generate revenue once it opens its doors.
More seats mean more tickets, more members, more corporate inventory and — importantly — a better chance of attracting the major sporting events and concerts needed to make the economics of Macquarie Point stack up.
Scoop contacted the corporation, the AFL and Tassie Devils chief executive Brendon Gale, but none wanted to comment.
The Tasmanian government promised $375 million for the stadium, the federal committed $240 million to the precinct and AFL has promised $15 million.
The state government faces well-documented financial pressures, so may have to go to the federal government to make up the shortfall.
But more seats in the stadium, the argument goes, will make the stadium more viable. In other words, if you are going back to the government to ask for hundreds of millions of dollars more, you may as well bring a plan to make some of it back.
It is a fascinating next chapter for a project that has already undergone its fair share of revisions.
The official cost estimate currently sits at $1.13 billion.
Now the builders have had their say, and a 23,000-seat roofed stadium won’t be cheap. A 30,000-seat roofed stadium might be easier to explain.
The Macquarie Point Development Corporation is aiming to appoint a builder by Christmas.
The Brownlow briefcase
It starts with four umpires, a ballot card and three handwritten numbers.
Or does it? What about if the four umpires can’t agree on which players should get the Brownlow votes at the end of a game of football? And when they do agree, how do those precious votes find their way into the famous briefcase that will be carried amid much ceremony into the Crown Palladium ballroom tonight?
In a digital age, Brownlow voting is still a pen and paper job. No app. No encrypted portal. No biometric pass.
Scoop has been told that when the four field umpires can’t settle on their 3-2-1, one method used to break the deadlock is remarkably simple.
The Swans’ Brownlow RSVPs are in
The list of Sydney Swans players called in to represent the club at the Brownlow Medal count has finally been revealed.
With star midfielders Isaac Heeney and Chad Warner banned from attending the count in the wake of the sexual assault investigation, but still eligible to win the award, the Swans’ invite list has been tightly held.
But with the presentation taking place on Monday night, the final RSVPs are now in and making the list are: Charlie Curnow, Dane Rampe, Brodie Grundy, Logan McDonald and Tom McCartin.
However, the group will only be in the room in Melbourne if the Swans miss out on a place in the grand final.
It might be best for the Swans’ table to put their support behind ruckman Grundy – the AFL’s own Brownlow predictor has him polling 15 votes. The other four players are predicted to rack up just 11 combined.
Heeney is still listed on the site as the Swans’ predicted top vote-getter with 23. That could make for an awkward night as the count is read.
Push to boost Hobart stadium capacity
The first round of tenders for the Macquarie Point stadium have landed — and so has the bill.
There are two builders in the process and the commercial details of their submissions are confidential, but those familiar with the numbers told Scoop in September the news is not good.
At least $250 million over budget worth of not good.
‘We thank Toby for his service’
Toby Greene has spent 15 years at Greater Western Sydney.
Three All-Australian selections. Twice a club champion. More than 250 games. Captain. The face of the Giants.
So when the time came to tell the football world that Greene wanted to leave the club for Geelong, outgoing Giants chief executive Dave Matthews decided the occasion deserved something special.
He announced it on radio.
Why a Swans prelim win could prevent Brownlow blushes
The Swans may have picked up a few new supporters this week as they prepare to face Fremantle in a preliminary final, and it all has to do with the Brownlow.
Scoop in September is hearing the forecast for the league’s best and fairest count, prepared for Seven and based on round-by-round predictions, has a few people at AFL House jumping on the Bloods bandwagon.
Analysts who assist with the television broadcast of next Monday night’s count expect three of the suspended Swans – Isaac Heeney, Chad Warner and Nick Blakey – to poll as many as 50 votes between them.
What we’ve dug up so far
Scoop’s time to shine
Well, here we are. Spring has sprung, the weather’s improving, and we’re down to the pointy end of the AFL season. It’s time for Scoop in September to shine.
There’s so much news about in the world of AFL. The preliminary finals are on the horizon. After that, it’ll be grand final week, kicking off, of course, with all the glitz and glamour of Brownlow Medal night.
For the 14 clubs out of the premiership race, the planning for season 2027 is in full swing with post-season wakes, retirements, delistings and trade talk dominating the discourse.
Scott Pendlebury is heading north to the Suns, Zak Butters has declared his desire to join the Western Bulldogs, but a deal still has to be negotiated, and the Kangaroos are starting their search for a new senior coach after the brutal sacking of Alastair Clarkson.
It all means there’s plenty of news about for our resident scoop, Sam McClure. This is his column; a place for all the news, training whispers, views and behind-the-scenes intel he can dig up from the busiest time of year on the AFL calendar.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
