Clarence City Council has taken a major step toward delivering a $60-million regional sports and education hub, voting to endorse the business case and move forward with planning and stakeholder engagement.
At its meeting on Monday, 7 April, councillors endorsed the Bayview Secondary
College Sports Precinct Business Case and agreed to progress stakeholder engagement, project designs and planning.
The precinct will be co-located at Bayview Secondary College in the fast-growing suburb of Clarendon Vale and be developed in partnership with the Tasmanian and Australian Governments, with $8 million already committed by the Tasmanian Government.
City of Clarence Mayor, Brendan Blomeley said the project was ready to go into the planning and detailed design stages, and had strong community and government support.
“With Clarence experiencing rapid population growth, the investment will ensure the region has the infrastructure to support active lifestyles for the next 20 years and beyond,” Mayor Blomeley said.
“The sporting precinct is not just a facility—it’s a transformational project that will provide pathways for young athletes, improve health and wellbeing and foster economic growth.”
The proposed plans include multiple outdoor sports fields and an indoor sports stadium with four courts as well as a high-performance gymnasium to deliver talent pathways for aspiring elite junior athletes.
The project is the centrepiece of Council’s 2025 Strategic Priorities prospectus released in March following detailed demand modelling that identified significant infrastructure shortages across Greater Hobart.
Mayor Blomeley said the hub would address these gaps and ensure facilities met modern standards for accessibility and female participation.
“The demand for sporting facilities is at an all-time high, as highlighted by Basketball Tasmania in their calls earlier this year for an infrastructure overhaul to address the severe shortage in adequate facilities,” he said.
“This precinct is a crucial part of Council’s vision for a healthy, active city – we have done the groundwork, completed a detailed feasibility study and we have concept designs ready.
“The project is expected to create 350 full-time equivalent jobs during construction, boost local business activity and attract further investment in housing and infrastructure development in Clarence.
Further information on the project and others can be found on the Strategic Projects webpage.