Confidence in shadow fix at proposed Hobart stadiumEthan JamesAAPSun, 23 November 2025 1:17PM
Cricket Tasmania is confident they’ve found a fix to roof shadow issues at Hobart’s proposed stadium, allowing the venue to host Big Bash League and Sheffield Shield fixtures.
The state and national cricket bodies held serious concerns about whether the sport could be played at the $1.13 billion Macquarie Point stadium, slated to be complete in 2029.
Cricket Tasmania and the state government announced on Sunday they had signed an agreement to transition from Bellerive Oval to the new venue.
Cricket Tasmania CEO Dom Baker said a company on the Gold Coast had a solution that would essentially make the playing surface shadowless.
“That fills us with great confidence that not only can we take the BBL to the new stadium, but we can put Sheffield Shield cricket in there to get international accreditation from the ICC to play international cricket,” Baker told reporters.
“It could be quite ironic (if) we’re playing in the only stadium in Australia that will have no shadows.”
The fix has been described as a matte treatment of “pillows” in the roof that will disperse light.
Baker said the technology was used in agricultural and horticultural settings throughout the world.
Plans to set up a rig to test the material had been “scaled down” because of the level of confidence in the fix, he said.
“The shadowing was a no-or-go for cricket. The number one thing we want to guarantee is the safety of our players. We were very concerned about it. (But) we’re really confident,” he said.
Approval of the stadium, a condition of the Tasmania Devils’ entry into the AFL and AFLW, hinges on a vote in parliament in early December.
The AFL has maintained the Devils won’t go ahead without the stadium.
Anne Beach, CEO of the Macquarie Point Development Corporation, said the test rig process was to help ensure the maximum amount of UV could get through the roof.
“That is really important for turf growth,” she said.
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