UTAS Stadium upgrade: Government 'very open' to proposal

A $208 million redevelopment proposal, which would see the stadium's seating capacity boosted to 24,112, will go before City of Launceston council next week.

The upgrade would put UTAS Stadium well on its way to the 27,500 seating capacity recommended by the Tasmanian AFL taskforce for Launceston to host blockbuster fixtures with the likes of Richmond and Collingwood.

Launceston mayor Albert Van Zetten said the redevelopment would have a huge impact on Tasmanian football should it go ahead.

"There's an exciting future for this stadium," Cr Van Zetten said.

"We've had discussion with state government for quite some time and they've been very open and wanting us to develop this ground and it fits in very much with their plans for the AFL.

"We're really going along with what the AFL report did say and their report stated quite clearly they need a stadium and they said this was the place for a stadium to be upgraded to a 27,500."

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The state government has recently upped the stakes in Tasmania's bid for an AFL side, with Premier Peter Gutwein putting talks with co-tenants Hawthorn and North Melbourne on hold until the AFL delivers a timeline for a Tasmanian team.

Mr Gutwein said he would give the proposal due consideration should it pass at council on Thursday.

"An AFL team and our aspirations for an AFL team remain front and centre in our thinking and obviously I've made some statements in terms of the positions that we've taken," Mr Gutwein said.

"I did make mention in my budget speech that we were working closely on looking at upgrades at York Park ... an upgraded stadium over time will be required to support an AFL side.

"If council approve it and forward it on to me then I'll be in a position once I've looked at the business case to make an assessment of [the proposal's value]."

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Plans for the redeveloped stadium feature retractable seating, new high performance facilities, cafes and community facilities.

A roof will not be part of the redeveloped stadium.