Hobart Unveils Plans For A New Stadium To Host Indoor Test Cricket Matches

Plans are in motion to introduce indoor Test cricket at a new stadium in Hobart, tied to the Tasmanian team's upcoming entry into the Australian Football League (AFL).

The Tasmania Devils will become the AFL's 19th team in 2028. As part of this agreement, a new stadium with a capacity of 23,000 seats is planned at Macquarie Point. This venue will feature a transparent roof suitable for both daytime and floodlit T20 cricket.

Anne Beach, CEO of Macquarie Point Development Corporation, shared their ambitions with SEN Tassie, stating, "We want to get to red-ball [cricket], that's our focus."

Concept designs for the Macquarie Point stadium were recently unveiled. Ball-tracking data has been used to ensure the roof's height is adequate for cricket.

Cox Architecture CEO Alistair Richardson mentioned that cricket's main concern was roof height. He referenced Marvel Stadium in Melbourne where balls could potentially hit the roof.

"What we've done is we've worked through looking at Hawk-Eye and the ball-tracking technology, to actually assess the maximum height that anyone's hit a ball, which is quite interesting," Richardson said.

"Then, actually, [we've] pushed the roof to 50 metres, which cricket was really happy with because there's no instance of anyone hitting a ball at 50 metres."

Cricket Tasmania chair David Boon emphasised Tasmania's goal of playing cricket at this new stadium. He acknowledged it might spark discussions about Bellerive Oval's future.

"There is a wonderful opportunity for Tasmania to be a leader in innovation for the future of the game," Boon stated. "We want to play cricket in this stadium and look forward to working collaboratively with all parties over the coming months as the design is finalised."

Tasmania last hosted a Test match during the 2021-22 season when Ashes' final match was moved from Perth to Bellerive Oval due to Covid travel restrictions.

The innovative design of Macquarie Point stadium aims to minimise shadow impact on the playing surface. While Marvel Stadium has hosted indoor ODIs and BBL matches with its roof closed, Test cricket has never been played at an enclosed ground before.

Future Prospects and Collaborations

Beach highlighted their ongoing efforts: "We are workshopping with them through detailed design so we are making sure we are factoring in everything they need, [so] they have a clear understanding of how it's coming together then hopefully that sign-off process is pretty smooth. But we do want to get that red-ball sign-off and that's critical I think to enable that full content to be in the stadium."

She explained that accreditation can't happen until the stadium is built. They are collaborating with Cricket Tasmania and Cricket Australia to ensure all necessary details are covered before briefing the ICC.

It is unlikely that another Test will be staged there within the current Future Tours Programme. However, Australia's men will play a T20I against Pakistan in November and the third ODI of the Women's Ashes in January.