Tasmania's divisive stadium - and by extension the state's AFL dream - has copped a potentially fatal hit from a damning report that recommended the project not go ahead.
The state's planning commission on Wednesday released its final report into the Macquarie Point 23,000-seat roofed venue, a condition for Tasmania entering the AFL and AFLW in 2028.
"In very simple terms, the stadium is too big for the site and the benefits it will bring are significantly outweighed by the disbenefits it creates," it read.
Liberal Premier Jeremy Rockliff, who signed the stadium deal, has vowed to push ahead with trying to obtain parliamentary approval for the project.
But the Labor opposition has softened its stadium support, saying it needed "time to digest all the information thoroughly and give it the proper consideration".
The Liberals need the support of Labor to get the stadium through the lower house. In the upper house it needs Labor and the votes of several undecided independents.
Mr Rockliff, who revealed the price tag had again jumped, from $945 million to $1.13 billion, said the report had underestimated the stadium's social and economic benefits.
"I am not going to give up on this project," he told reporters.
"You cannot put a value on keeping young people in Tasmania and building hope and aspiration."
Mr Rockliff said the project would head before parliament for a vote on its approval as planned.
The commission's recommendation the stadium not go ahead is not binding but the report was seen as crucial intel before the vote, expected this year.
The report said the stadium would cause "irrevocable and unacceptable adverse impacts on Hobart's spatial and landscape character, urban form and historic cultural heritage".
Construction and operation of the stadium would result in a "substantial net social cost" to Tasmania's community, the commission found.
It estimates the government would need to accumulate $1 billion in debt for construction costs, rising to $1.8 billion over 10 years.
The government previously pledged to cap its contribution at $375 million.
Mr Rockliff ruled out raising taxes to fund the build, despite the report saying the construction cost equated to $5900 per Tasmanian household not reliant on Commonwealth income support.
Labor leader Josh Willie said his party understood the stadium was required for AFL and AFLW teams and it was critical to the long-term success of the club.
But he refused to guarantee support for the project when asked.
"The planning commission's report raises fundamental questions about the future of the project and it's clear there are several challenges that need to be overcome," Mr Willie said.
"The ball is firmly in the premier's court to explain what happens next."
Anti-stadium group spokesman Roland Browne said the report vindicated public opposition.
Rallies against the stadium have drawn thousands of people, including prominent Tasmanian federal politicians Jacqui Lambie and Andrew Wilkie and author Richard Flanagan.
"The stadium is not constructible because Tasmania does not have the money to pay for it," Mr Browne said.
"The stadium should lay where it falls and be passed over."
Tasmania was awarded a licence to become the AFL's 19th team in 2023 on the condition a roofed venue be built at Macquarie Point.
While some have argued for a renegotiation of the deal, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon has maintained the "no stadium, no team" mantra.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the project, the Tasmania Devils have ploughed on with setting up the club and recently announced development teams would enter the second-tier VFL and VFLW in 2026.
