Supporters and opponents of Tasmania's waterfront stadium are mobilising for two major rallies ahead of a parliamentary vote that will determine whether the venue is built.
The $1.13 billion project is headed to the lower house in early November and to the upper house in December, when a handful of undecided independents will decide its fate.
The stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart, which requires parliament's green light, is a condition of Tasmania entering the AFL and AFLW in 2028.
It has the support of the state's governing Liberals and Labor opposition, but is on the nose with the majority of the population according to opinion polls.
Anti-stadium group Our Place - Hobart on Monday announced a rally would be held on November 23, in between the lower house and upper house votes.
"It's going to be a major rally and give voice to the anger in the community, about how the stadium is going to tip the state's finances to a more disastrous trajectory," group spokesman Roland Browne said.
The stadium is expected to sail through the lower house with support of the two major parties, but several upper house independents are yet to declare their hand.
The upper house vote will take place after Tasmania's interim 2025/26 budget is handed down, something Mr Browne hopes will influence the vote.
"We're expecting those critical upper house members to be asking 'how can we afford this?'," he said.
A rally in favour of the stadium will be held a week later on November 30, with a Facebook post on the 'Yes AFL team, Yes stadium' page urging people to turn out in force.
A pro-stadium walk through Hobart in July drew thousands, with organisers saying the "silent majority" back the development.
Several thousand people are expected to attend the anti-stadium rally, in line with previous protests that have drawn federal politicians including Jacqui Lambie.
Tasmania's ballooning debt, set to reach $13 billion by 2027/28, is the main reason the stadium should be canned, critics say.
"Donald Trump has been criticised at the moment for building a $300 million ballroom," anti-stadium campaigner and author Richard Flanagan said.
"This stadium is already four times the cost of that and the taxpayer is paying for it."
The AFL and state government have maintained the stadium deal is non-negotiable.
A report by the state's independent planning commission earlier this year said the stadium's costs outweighed the benefits and it was too big for the site.
The government dismissed the report's conclusions as matters of opinion and said many of the stadium's positives were intangible.
