Stadiums Tasmania land transfer

Throughout Australia, Tier 2 Stadia like UTAS Stadium are generally owned by State Governments either directly, or through a Trust or Authority.

Examples include Kardinia Park, managed by the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, operated by the MCG Trust, or Perth's Optus Stadium, which is managed by the Western Australian State Government.

UTAS Stadium is a rare instance of a Tier 2 Stadia which is managed by a local council.

While the City of Launceston's management of UTAS Stadium has seen the venue grow and expand over recent decades, the venue is now at a stage where a new governance model is required to fully realise the stadium's potential.

It is unusual in an Australian context for a local Council to operate a sporting facility of UTAS Stadium's calibre, with most similar stadia operated by State Governments or management trusts.

The City of Launceston invests approximately $5m per year in operational and capital costs for UTAS Stadium.

While the stadium provides economic returns for the entire region, its operation is funded solely by ratepayers in the Launceston municipality.

Additionally, the operation of a contemporary high-level sporting and entertainment venue is a specialised field, and is not a core business for local government.

Given the capital and operational investments required to manage contemporary stadia, it will be increasingly challenging for the City of Launceston to continue to fund UTAS Stadium's requirements into the future.

In short, the current governance and ownership model is not a sustainable and does not reflect the facility's role as a contemporary regional sporting facility.

The management of major sports venues is highly specialised and distinct from the traditional roles of local councils and government departments.

Stadiums Tasmania is a statutory authority which has been established to better coordinate the management and future development of Tasmania’s major public stadium infrastructure.

The State and Federal Governments have committed more than $130m in funding for upgrades and expansion of UTAS Stadium, to be overseen by Stadiums Tasmania, in recognition of the venue's continuing importance as a sporting and entertainment venue.

Stadiums Tasmania's will bring together a range of experts with specialised skills to grow each stadium's content offering and to identify strategic development priorities.

The sole focus of Stadiums Tasmania will be on the management and expansion of the state's major sporting and entertainment venues, significantly enhancing Tasmania’s ability to attract major national and international sporting competitions, entertainment, and events.

The legislation introduced to enable the establishment of Stadiums Tasmania as a government business enterprise requires it to manage, promote and generate future content for all facilities under its remit, including UTAS Stadium.

UTAS Stadium has proven itself as a capable host of high-level sporting competitions including AFL and Big Bash League Cricket.

A transition to a new governance model represents an opportunity to grow content at UTAS Stadium to new levels.

Additionally, given Tasmania now aims to field both men's and women's teams in the AFL and VFL, multiple grounds will be required for this purpose.

The transition of UTAS Stadium to Stadiums Tasmania is intended to significantly expand content on offer at the facility.

The State and Federal Governments have committed $130m in funding towards upgrades to UTAS Stadium, overseen by Stadiums Tasmania.

In consultation with York Park user groups, it's intended that the funding will be used for improvements to stadium infrastructure, amenity, concession and concourse and oval redevelopment.

The York Park (UTAS Stadium) Future Directions Plan includes a future proposal to build a 5000-seat multi-use complex adjacent to the stadium, which includes a further three courts and a main show court, all of which will provide much-needed elite level facilities for the region.

UTAS Stadium is commonly regarded as having one of the best playing surfaces in the country, which is a credit to the staff who currently work at the facility.

A key component of the transition plan to Stadiums Tasmania is that UTAS Stadium staff have been offered the opportunity to retain employment with Stadiums Tasmania.

This will ensure the significant experience and expertise held by UTAS Stadium staff can be leveraged by Stadiums Tasmania for the future benefit of the facility and wider community.

Stadiums Tasmania has been established as a new statutory entity, following the passage of the Stadiums Tasmania Act 2022, and will aim to find an appropriate balance between national, international and local content.

The Act specifies that Stadiums Tasmania is to attract and deliver international and national sporting, entertainment and event content — but also to host statewide, regional and local sporting, entertainment and event content.

The Act also stipulates that Stadiums Tasmania should use its assets to help foster excellence in sporting codes and to facilitate Tasmania's engagement in international, national, statewide and local competitions.