AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan says Tasmania’s team will enter the competition in 2028, up to a year before construction on their 23,000-seat roofed home venue is finished.
Last weekend Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged $240 million of Federal funding for the stadium to be constructed on Hobart’s waterfront at Macquarie Point.
When McLachlan announced Tasmania’s success as the AFL’s 19th licence on Wednesday, he confirmed that funding would go towards a $715 million, 23,000 seat roofed stadium.
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McLachlan said the Macquarie Point venue didn’t need for be complete for the team to get the official green light to enter the AFL – just in progress.
“(2028) that’s targeted and proposed. Clearly there’s a stadium to be designed and built and other pieces to that,” he said.
“That’s certainly the plan and proposition.”
When asked if the stadium need to be complete, McLachlan replied: “No, candidly, we’ve discussed we think it could start a year before it was finished”.
“That’s about all it could carry. We’ve had that experience before, but we’ll work through that,” he said.
“It doesn’t have to be (finished) but you’d want to have a line of sight to when it was.
“The design will play out, the different costs and variables in building a stadium.
“Ultimately it’s a stadium owned and developed by the state.
“It is an iconic spot in Macquarie Point – it’ll be an amazing venue for our supporters to come and watch the greatest game in the world and it’s going to bring this city to life.
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“Whatever the final configuration of the venue, it will be a huge asset for our competition and obviously a jewel in the Tasmanian crown.”
The announcement of a roofed venue could prove an issue for Cricket Australia’s plans to use the venue.
Cricket Tasmania chief executive officer Dominic Baker has previously said Test cricket and one-day international cricket was not allowed to be played under a fixed roof.
McLachlan covered a wide range of issues in his press conference on Wednesday, and even laughed as he joked the search for the Tasmanian team’s CEO search was starting “this afternoon”.
“No, it’s a joke. C’mon we only just got a licence done,” he said.
“There will be an establishment committee of five board members. When the team’s playing it will be seven board members. The chairperson and the board members will be chosen in consultation with the AFL and the State Government. And that is important to get that going straight away.
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“The chairperson is the critical appointment – we haven’t discussed that yet at any length.
“But that’s an important decision to be made as soon as possible and I imagine conversations will happen on that in the coming weeks and not months.
“I’m very confident it will be a Tasmanian.”
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff described Wednesday’s announced as a “gamechanger” and said he was confident the State could meet all timelines in regards to the new stadium.
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“As Gill says, there’s a lot to go through with the design in respect to that,” he said.
“It needs to be an iconic venue in my view.
“Our plan is for a roof, absolutely.
“What’s import about Macquarie Point is it’s not just about the stadium … the beauty of Macquarie Point is that it can deliver so much – that quality sporting, entertainment, mixed purpose venue for all Tasmanians.”
