New Gruen Report concludes the Mac Point stadium should be abandoned

Media Release

9 June 2026

The Tasmanian Liberal Government should abandon the proposed Mac Point stadium.

That’s according to a new report from globally renowned economist Dr Nicholas Gruen (of Lateral Economics). Dr Gruen says costs for the proposed stadium will blow out to at least $1.5 billion, with $460m in interest payments. And that’s the best case scenario. The worst case scenario is a staggering cost of over $1.75 billion + interest of some $700m over 10 years.

This report concludes what we’ve all known for quite some time: the proposed Macquarie Point stadium doesn’t stack up and should be binned.

The 2026 Gruen report updates his work from 2025, which was prepared for the Tasmanian Liberal Government. This new report reflects the current costs for the proposed Macquarie Point stadium and is scathing in its assessment.

Dr Gruen warns the ‘project’s economics have deteriorated’ and ‘an already uneconomic project looks even worse’ (p. 33).

And that’s after adjusting his figures to account for government feedback on his 2025 report.

No New Stadium spokesperson Roland Browne says:

The 2026 Gruen report should ring very loud alarm bells for anyone concerned about the key goals of delivering AFL teams for Tasmania and avoiding an economic train crash for the state’s economy.

 

This is a disaster for all of us. It’s time to renegotiate the deal, before we’re all suffocated by the stadium and its ever-increasing cost.

 

This unsustainable and unaffordable project puts both the AFL teams and our state’s finances at very serious risk. The interest payments are staggering, as is the capital cost.

 

It’s time for the Tasmanian Liberal Government and the AFL to accept the facts: renegotiate the deal. The report makes crystal clear that Tasmania can have the Tassie Devils teams for a fraction of the cost of the stadium.

 

We’ll preserve Tasmanian jobs and services, provide an opportunity for Mac Point and the Cenotaph to be a showcase for Hobart and for the whole state, and unite the community behind the teams.