The property development company behind Hobart's rejected "Stadium 2.0" concept has collapsed into liquidation, owing creditors $6 million and employees $145,000 in unpaid superannuation — while its director is now connected to a fresh waterfront development proposal on the city's doorstep.
Dean Coleman, director and secretary of SolutionsWon Group, confirmed the company entered liquidation in December last year. Mr Coleman acknowledged the failed stadium bid was a "significant" factor in the company's financial difficulties.
The rise and fall of Stadium 2.0
In 2023, Mr Coleman joined several prominent Tasmanians — including a former Labor premier — to pitch an ambitious alternative stadium concept to the state government. Known as Stadium 2.0 or MAC 2.0, the proposal envisaged a 23,000-seat roofed stadium to be built on reclaimed land along the River Derwent.
The design was put forward through a separate company, Stadia Precinct, of which Mr Coleman is also listed as a director and secretary. The Tasmanian government rejected the proposal in 2024, describing it as an "unacceptable risk".
In a statement, Mr Coleman said SolutionsWon Group had invested in major private-sector projects over several years, with the stadium process leaving a material impact on its finances. Liquidation documents confirmed the scale of the company's liabilities at the time of its collapse.
A new Regatta Point proposal emerges
Despite the liquidation of SolutionsWon Group, Mr Coleman has emerged as a figure connected to a new waterfront development concept. Last month, he and Hobart City Councillor John Kelly announced a proposal to develop land at Regatta Point under the banner of the Regatta Quay Precinct (RQP). The plan includes 220 apartments and a large car park.
A spokesperson for RQP confirmed that the new team is "largely the original Stadium 2.0 team." When questioned about the timing — given SolutionsWon Group's liquidation — Mr Coleman was careful to distance himself from any suggestion of a revival of his former company's interests.
"RQP and SolutionsWon Group are completely separate entities," Mr Coleman said, adding that RQP should "ultimately be assessed on its planning, transport, economic and community merits."
Mr Coleman described his involvement in RQP as purely advisory and communicative, rather than as a project proponent or developer. He said he had been asked to help explain the concept and technical work already completed during the Stadium 2.0 planning phase, following a request from Councillor John Kelly that elements of the broader precinct planning — excluding the stadium — be made available for renewed public consideration.
Where the proposal stands now
The Hobart City Council has agreed to receive a briefing on the Regatta Quay Precinct proposal, though the project remains at a very early stage. Mr Coleman was explicit that no formal project has been announced, no development application has been lodged, and no investment process has commenced.
He indicated that questions of governance, ownership and delivery structure would only be addressed if the project advances further. Councillor Kelly has indicated his interest in ensuring the transport, parking and waterfront planning work developed during the Stadium 2.0 process is not lost, and can inform future consideration of the site.
For now, Mr Coleman's connection to both a company in liquidation and an emerging waterfront development proposal is likely to attract scrutiny as Hobart continues to navigate competing visions for its most prominent public land.
