Tasmania is one step closer to having its own AFL team, with the 18 club presidents unanimously supporting the bid for a 19th license.
According to several reports, the presidents only needed 15 minutes to reach the verdict on Tuesday morning. There were no objections.
The final hurdle lies with the AFL Commission, who will meet on Tuesday evening to agree upon a formal ratification. If approved, the AFL will officially announce the licence later this week, with Tasmania’s entry into the competition predicted for either 2027 or 2028.
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The Herald Sun reports that AFL chief executive elect Andrew Dillon plans to allow the Tasmanian people to choose the name of the new team, with the Tasmanian Devils being a prohibitive favourite.
However, the AFL’s 19th team will need to broker a commercial arrangement with entertainment giant Warner Bros to use the Tasmanian Devils as its official name, according to the News Corp report.
“I do know there is something with Warner Bros, but not 100 per cent across that one,” Dillon told SEN this week.
“I have got an absolutely open mind, the name of the Tasmanian team should be owned by the people of Tasmania.”
On Saturday morning, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese confirmed the federal government would fund $240 million towards a new stadium multipurpose in Hobart, the penultimate and arguably most significant hurdle for Tasmania’s entry.
“This is a revitalisation project that will transform this city. It is one that I’m very pleased to support,” Albanese said.
“We want to make sure that the benefits of having an AFL team based here in Tasmania means that they can play both in Hobart and in Launceston as well to develop, to deliver the economic benefits for the whole state of Tasmania.”
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the new Macquarie Point site would “turbocharge the Tasmanian economy for decades”.
“As I said, I don’t want to sit back in 10 years time when I’m back on the farm, thinking ‘you know what, if only I drove that a bit harder we might’ve got that’. Well, today we got it,” Rockliff wrote on Twitter.
“We’ve secured a $240 million investment to transform Mac Point, into something we can all be proud of. The entire precinct will contain housing for health workers, community facilities and a multipurpose stadium that unlocks Tassie’s very own AFL team.
“This is going to turbocharge the Tasmanian economy for decades, and allow us to continue investing record amounts into health, housing and education. Because Tasmanians deserve what every other state has. And it’s the right thing to do.”
