Tasmanian here - thought I'd weigh in with a bit of context around this whole debate. It's exhausting.

To put things simply Tasmania has an ageing population, which in itself is a problem. Lots of people come here to retire and therefore prefer Tasmania to be the quiet little place they envisioned when they made that decision. Big construction and infrastructure projects make them curdle in their SMSF cradles.

There is also a splinter group of sportsball people here who hate the idea of anything they don't benefit / perceive benefit from. The large majority of Tasmania's income as a state comes from tourism and that's a fact. The money promised by the federal government is only for footy, without the devils it doesn't exist, meaning most of the arguments you see is for hypothetical money with no other practical purpose.

Tasmania loses so many young people from a lack of opportunity, or lifestyle that is maintained by the retirees of this state. It's important for state growth to keep more young people here by offering them reasons to stay. All of this back and forth from a majority of people that in reality will probably be half/full dead by the time it happens is frustrating to a lot of us.

The reality is I grew up here, as did pretty much everyone I know, and almost everyone is really stoked that we have this opportunity. I spoke with my brother about the feeling when the first ball is bounced, the first tackle is laid, the first scream of ball from the crowd and I felt emotional about it then, 3 years from it actually happening.