$3b: Astronomical number has Pridham fearing for Tassie

There are fears the cost of putting together the Tasmania Devils could balloon to beyond $3 billion.

Sydney Swans chairman Andrew Pridham, an investment banker, was asked if he was at all concerned about the building of the infrastructure and the ensuing cost for Tassie.

“Yeah, absolutely (I’m concerned),” Pridham said on SEN Breakfast.

Before outlining all the reasons why.

“I’ve always been very positive about Tasmania having a team. I think it's a football state and I've got no concerns there,” he continued.

“My concern has always been at what cost and that's capital cost.

"It’s not just the stadium, it's the infrastructure around it, it's the roads, it's the training and administration facilities, it's actually upgrading UTAS Stadium and Blundstone or whatever it's called in Hobart (Ninja Stadium).

“We’ve already seen very substantial cost escalation from what was initially floated as costing. I think originally they were saying the stadium was going to cost $715 million. The last time I saw it was about $1.1-1.2 billion.

“I can tell you, I am in the construction industry in a sense - the cost increases that have occurred in the last 12-18 months post-COVID certainly, but also what we're now going to see post the Iran War, are going to be very substantial cost inflation, which is coming through all building products, it's coming through fuel.

“We've got the Olympics in Brisbane, which are going to have similar challenges in terms of cost and labour shortages.”

Could the Tassie bill blow out to as much as $2 billion?

Pridham expects it to push even further over the $3 billion mark - an astronomical number.

“Look, I would be surprised if all up, when you actually add everything up, it doesn't start with a three,” he said.

Given the plans are so far down the line, can the Devils afford not to continue with their pursuit?

“Well, I think you've got to do it. If you're going to have a team, they've got to have the facilities to succeed and that's something I think's a non-negotiable,” Pridham continued.

“We can't put a team there and then let them fail.

“Players won't go and players won't stay. They'll go because they'll have to go but they won't stay.

“That's going to be a big challenge for the Devils. And so the facilities have to be first rate for it to work. The challenge is it also has to stack up. The money's got to be found and it's not small change.

“Tasmania does not have a big economy, it's not small change, and I think the term that's used in the construction industry is value engineering, which is a nice term for cost cutting.

“Even if you look at the Adelaide Oval, which I agree is a magnificent stadium, there was a fair bit of value engineering there. If you notice next time you go into the Ian McLachlan Room, there's no bathrooms in it, for example.

“There were some corners cut to get it done, and I think that's what you're going to see.”

Pridham touched on a number of topics in a wide-ranging interview with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson.

Listen to the full chat below: