PROGRESS UPDATE ON OUR REDEVELOPMENT:
Redevelopment.. where it stands today:
​
The Society is currently redeveloping the Hobart Showground site. ​With STAGE 1 and STAGE 2 now complete, the society is now undertaking STAGE 3 of the Project. The Showground covers an area which is several city blocks in size, and re-developed, it could include a completely new Showground precinct, a major new visitor centre, an emergency centre for people and animals in times of natural disaster, Motorhome Park, and housing. When complete, it will be virtually a new suburb within the northern suburbs.
One of Australia’s most preeminent architects BPSM has been appointed to turn the Society’s plans into working concepts, while leading Tasmanian project managers are facilitating the project on behalf of the Board of the Society. This transformation of the Showground is planned to proceed in several stages, and the Society is talking to all levels of government about the scope and funding of the project. One element is three new Showground pavilions, which will cost in the order of $40 million. Further stages will be dependent on the funding received from Government and other bodies. Final costings will then be dependent on timings and construction costs.
The full project will cover an area equivalent to several city blocks and transform Hobart’s northern suburbs.
Tracking the progress: August 2025
History of the redevelopment: Stage 1/2/3
What the project achieves:
-
Secures the future of the Society.
-
Secures the future of the Royal Hobart Show, which is the oldest Agricultural Show in Australia.
-
Turns an under-utilised showground into a vibrant community asset.
-
Retains space for community clubs, sports and activities.
-
Provides Hobart with a crisis refuge for people and animals in times of civil disruption such as bushfires.
-
Provides significant relief to Hobart’s affordable housing crisis.
-
Increased community utilisation of the Showground.
-
ESD - Ecological Sustainable Design – principles mean the precinct will be set in an area which is more than 40% dedicated to green space.
-
Not a project driven by commercial developers, but a project by a community organisation that delivers community benefits.
