A new Tasmanian team may not play its first game in the new stadium proposed for Hobart even if the federal government gives the state government $240 million in the Federal Budget to build it at Macquarie Point.
Multiple club bosses confirmed to The Age they were told at a meeting with the AFL, held during Gather Round, that the league could not guarantee the new stadium would be operational at the same time as a new team entered the AFL due to the delays many major projects are experiencing post-COVID.
Hawthorn and Adelaide players line up during a ceremony ahead of Anzac Day before their clash at UTAS Stadium on Sunday.Credit: AFL Photos
Club CEOs were told the AFL would be prepared for the new team to play at existing venues, Blundstone Arena in Hobart and UTAS Stadium in Launceston, for one to two seasons before the stadium was completed.
The AFL remains hopeful the stadium, if funded in the May Budget, would be completed by 2029 as outlined in the initial business plan, but is not prepared to commit to a starting date for the new team until the licence – which is contingent on a new stadium being built – is granted.
A senior AFL source said the gap between a new team being introduced and the new stadium opening would ideally be no more than one year. At the meeting the league argued to club bosses that having two launches – one for the new team and one for the new team in a new stadium the following season – could be turned into a positive as it would keep momentum rolling in the start-up phase.
Hawthorn players take the field for the clash with the Crows.Credit: AFL Photos
Despite that warning the league is determined to have a training and administrative base in place for the potential new team in its first pre-season, even if temporarily away from the new stadium to ensure certainty for players and staff. It also believes a new stadium will present a key selling point for the club when attempting to attract new players.
It is important to both clubs and the AFL that the start date for a team from Tasmania is locked in as soon as possible if the funding bid is successful and the presidents approve as the admission of a new team will have huge implications for each club’s list decisions and, eventually, fixturing.
Clubs want to be able to foreshadow what list concessions a new club based in Tasmania would get and what effect they would have on their planning, with teams’ list strategies stretching out to five years and sometimes beyond, with Carlton’s Harry McKay and Melbourne’s Clayton Oliver both contracted at their clubs until the end of 2030.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has been consistent in declaring the bid for a team in Tasmania as contingent on a new stadium in Hobart being built.Credit: Getty Images
The granting of a new AFL licence for a standalone team in Tasmania is dependent on the federal government grant with the state government already committing $375 million to the stadium plus $60 million to a high-performance centre in Hobart. They also agreed to underpin the team’s revenue for the first 12 seasons, committing $12 million a year for the first 12 years.
AFL sources remain hopeful without being certain that the state government will receive federal funding in the May Budget. They told club CEOs at the meeting that this week was the time for clubs to effectively put up or shut up as they did not want internal debate to sideswipe the bid if funding is achieved.
On Saturday, the bid for a standalone team in Tasmania lost the support of the Greens, who said they could not support the team due to the insistence that a licence being granted was contingent on a new state-of-the-art stadium being built in Hobart.
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