Onto part 2 - the boutique stadium talk
So, while the Mac Point stadium will be great to draw some big events to establish local interest in top-level football, there will be a need for a boutique rectangular stadium. While this has always been a thought, the difference now is that it doesn't need to be that big anymore - 10k or so is fine, maybe a little less - since Mac Point (23k) can host the occasional larger event. It will still need to be a modern stadium with modern amenities however - food/beverage, player facilities, media, etc. Covered seating too - open air stands exposed to the weather won't cut it. (Full roofed venue might be a bit too much of an ask though...)
But where?
It would be deserving for Tasmania's most successful club, South Hobart FC, to be the recipient of a venue upgrade to become the premier rectangular ground in the state. Unfortunately, there isn't space around Darcy Street to accommodate this - so that's a no-go.
It needs to be relatively close to the city, to be accessible, so that rules out most of the other suburban grounds. I agree with the comment earlier in the thread - a modified North Hobart Oval. Unlike the TCA Ground, North Hobart Oval doesn't have a permanent summer tenant - meaning no cricket wicket in the centre, and no team to displace. It's also close to the North Hobart restaurant strip, for pre-match and post-match gatherings. There are buses travelling up and down Elizabeth St and Argyle St, and (in the future) there are even plans for the proposed Bus Rapid Transit route to travel down Letitia St.
The AFL purists won't like it ... but there needs to be some give and take considering the $$ investment that they have received (and I don't mean the stadium - the Devils high performance centre in Kingston is getting about $120m of govt funding, including two ovals and all the facilities you'd expect of a high end professional club.)
To go back into history, here's a design that I spent 10 minutes to draw up in paint about 9 years ago. Not saying it's very good, but I shared it around back then so it may be familiar.
Very rough, and numbers are guesstimated, but a concept as a temporary summer setup for A-League. I noticed that a regulation pitch could fit horizontally and proposed that layout, such that the permanent north-west stand *could* be useful for both rectangular and oval layouts.
Of course, things have changed since then. High drawing AFL content will be more likely to go to Mac Point or the Kingston HPC (for minor events like pre-season or VFL/VFLW). If there is an intention for the ground to be reconfigured as rectangular eventually, perhaps a temporary setup like this would be most beneficial (the curved stand if there is to be ongoing winter usage for AFL; the straight stand if there is going to be a permanent rectangularised pitch):
That's one direction we could take. However, if we were to think bigger and raze/rebuild the site, the other challenge would be the two heritage listed stands.
The left hand one (Horrie Gorringe Stand) is the largest and was built in 1923. The right hand one is (I think) a 10 year old identical rebuild of one that was destroyed by fire about 12 years ago, so I'm not sure how heritage listing applies to that. There is potential to demolish everything except the heritage stands and build a rectangular pitch in the south-west corner of the site, integrating the heritage stands into a fully surrounded structure - not unlike the SCG with the Members and Ladies Stands.
This would also free up about 13,000 square metres in an L-shaped space at the north and east of the site, which could be used as a public plaza, parklands, car park, etc. There is a quite a change in elevation across the site, so if it was being razed, car parking could go underneath - which would provide benefit to the city every day, not just event days.
Now there is one element to this I haven't even touched on - the Launceston question. I believe in any case, there will be an expectation for some matches to be held in the north of the state, and that's reasonable. Unfortunately, the venue situation there is more dire. While it is, of course, possible to hold matches at York Park - I was part of Tasmania's biggest club football crowd when 8000 people watched Victory and Adelaide play in 2007 - York Park has a large oval surface - the pitch location there makes viewing sub-optimal. However, it might be a necessity in the short term - asking for two rectangular stadiums might be reaching a bit far. If we were to draw up a long term plan, then perhaps somewhere such as the Northern Rangers home venue at the NTCA Ground might be possible. It's a discussion to be had in the future.
But overall, that's my optimum configuration. Mac Point Stadium (23k) for Socceroos/Matildas, finals, marquee games, and international competitions. North Hobart Oval (10k, rectangularised) for A-League men's and women's season matches.
