In a follow up to her earlier article “No New Stadium in Tasmania,” Suzanne Curry argues that building a new stadium is a misplaced priority that will not drive employment growth or improve public services, citing extensive economic research showing that stadium subsidies fail to deliver sufficient economic benefits and divert taxpayer funds from higher-priority issues like housing, healthcare and education.
STATE OF PLAY
If Tasmanian’s want employment growth and improvements in public services across all sectors of society, it will not be achieved by building a new stadium in Hobart, or indeed Tasmania.
It has been proven that the flow-on effect on employment and economic benefits does not come close to covering the investment and ongoing maintenance required for stadiums. Use the analogy of why the Victorian government cancelled hosting the Commonwealth Games due to cost blow-outs. They now have money to invest $1.85 billion in 100 new G Class Trams, the largest investment in locally made trams in Australia’s history.