The advocacy group Our Place have released 20 critical questions concerning the rapidly escalating and allegedly hidden costs of the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium, following the Planning Commission’s rejection. Spokesperson Roland Browne warned of a potential “slow-motion train wreck,” fearing the final cost could exceed $3 billion and called on Parliament not to write a “blank cheque” on an unfinalised design and inaccurate costing.
Media Release – Our Place, 6 October 2025
Our Place releases 20 critical questions about the costs of the proposed Mac Point Stadium
Following the Planning Commission’s resounding rejection of a stadium at Macquarie Point, Our Place has released 20 questions about the cost of the project which the government has to date avoided answering.
Spokesperson Roland Browne said:
“Every member of parliament with a shred of conscience should be intensely interested in getting the answers to these questions—and so should members of the Tasmanian media.
“Major costs are being hidden, major questions are being swept under the carpet and it is clear there will be no upper limit to the cost of the stadium. So where does it end—$2 billion?
$3 billion? Or more? The government must be accountable for this slow-motion train wreck. The project is now costed at $1.13 billion, a massive 50% increase on the starting costs. And clearly, the latest $1.13 billion cost is already outdated and fails to account for other significant costs on a yet unfinished design.
“It beggars belief that parliament is being asked to write a blank cheque on a project with the capacity to bankrupt us and drive us into recession that isn’t even yet fully designed or accurately costed.
“Parliament should not be voting until the design is finished, the construction cost honestly accounted for by an independent authority and so many unanswered questions answered truthfully.”
Some of the questions raised are:
• If the benefit to cost ratio (BCR) is .45 based on an (outdated) estimated cost of $950m, what will the BCR be on a cost of $1.13 billion? Or on $1.5 billion?
• What has happened to cricket? What is the consequence to the projected revenue stream of losing cricket?
• How much will the project cost next year, when contracts are to be signed?
• What are the costings for the northern access road and the underground car park?
• How much has the government already spent on the stadium while cutting health and education services?
We will be providing these questions to each and every member of the Tasmanian Parliament.
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