- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
A couple of weeks ago, Hobart’s Mercury newspaper published an article about two young Tasmanians and their aim to see Hobart host the 2020 Olympics. Of course it isn’t realistic, and their bid is more an example of patriotism and humour, with venues such as “David Foster Stadium” and “Regina Arena” being proposed.
However, it served as a reminder that Tasmania appears to be missing out on a very real opportunity of something bigger – hosting one of the twelve venues required for Australia’s 2018/2022 World Cup bid. Although there were whispers earlier on about Tasmanian venues being used, there hasn’t been any noise as of late.
The effect on Tasmania would have been amazing. Like the rest of the nation, the state would have received a massive tourism boost and unprecedented international television coverage. More importantly, it also would have filled one of the gaps in our state’s sporting infrastructure.
For its size, Tasmania has a great range of international sporting venues. We have York Park and Bellerive Oval – two excellent oval venues for AFL and cricket, and now, both with lights. The Hobart Aquatic Centre, Tasmanian Hockey Centre and Domain Tennis Centre have all been recent recipients of funding for redevelopments and have hosted international events or matches.
We have some of the world’s best natural venues for sailing (Derwent Harbour), rowing (Lake Barrington) and canoeing/kayaking (Cataract Gorge). A rectangular football stadium – suitable for soccer, rugby union and rugby league – is the notable exception.
The cost of the venue is the obvious impediment – at the moment, such a venue wouldn’t have a permanent tenant. This only makes being part of a World Cup bid all that more important – if we miss out on this, we won’t get another chance for a long time. How much would it be worth to the state government to get tens of thousands of people into the state for a few weeks, and get the name ‘Tasmania’ in front of 4 billion people worldwide? Assuming 50% federal funding and 50% state funding, I think the economic benefits would more than compensate for the capital outlay.
In June this year, the FFA announced that they had commissioned plans for a series of 25,000 capacity venues which would be upgraded to 45,000 with temporary seating. This model would be ideal for Tasmania – in fact the “temporary seating” could be rebuilt into a smaller venue in Launceston after the World Cup, leaving both cities with a legacy. As well as a potential HQ of Football Federation Tasmania and Rugby Tasmania, they could be used by a Tasmanian A-League team (at all levels – mens, womens, youth, pre-season, regular season, finals and ACL matches), national teams such as Matildas and Olyroos – even the Melbourne Storm (NRL) or Rebels (Super 15) might be interested in “selling” a game a year to Tasmania in the same way that Hawthorn does.
An occasional Socceroos match? Well, a mid-winter match in Hobart would certainly provide us with an advantage over players from middle eastern climates!
Could Tasmania cope with such demand? The tourism industry has been booming, even throughout the global financial crisis – perhaps because more Australians are holidaying at home rather than overseas.
Accommodation throughout the entire state would be at capacity, even the remote tourist resorts at Strahan, Cradle Mountain and Freycinet – visitors would think nothing of travelling three hours from these locations to Hobart for World Cup matches. Extra accommodation could be provided by cruise ships, similar to the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
There have been suggestions that an upgraded York Park would be used; and although it would be the Tasmanian ground that would be most likely to use the extra capacity afterwards, it would be a wasted opportunity to provide a “legacy to football” – something that FIFA encourages – to the state.
Unfortunately, all of this appears to be a pipe dream at the moment, as Tasmania is not included on Football Federation Australia’s proposed list of venues. The Tasmanian government is the only state government not to have made a public comment about their participation in the World Cup bid, even though in June, FFA chairman Frank Lowy stated that “every state, including Tasmania, would be involved in hosting the World Cup if the Australian bid succeeded.”
The state government needs to ensure that Tasmanian venues – either new or existing – are available to act as a training camps to 2 or 3 nations (perhaps Netherlands or Denmark, given both our distant and recent history?) during the World Cup so that we are not excluded completely. The current leaders of our three political parties – Premier David Bartlett, Will Hodgman and Nick McKim – are all young, progressive and full of enthusiasm for the potential of our state – they need to work to make this happen before it is too late.
And who knows, maybe we’ll have a shot at the Commonwealth Games in the near future?
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.