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Can Tasmania sustain its own AFL team?

Roar Rookie
30th March, 2014
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Roar Rookie
30th March, 2014
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2403 Reads

While Andrew Demetriou was the CEO of the AFL, many Tasmanians thought that having an AFL team was an impossibility. With Demetriou about to leave the top job, hopes of Tasmania having a team have risen again.

Being a Tasmanian through and through, I see both the argument for and against potentially having a Tasmanian AFL team. To avoid the perception of bias, this piece will attempt to present an objective view of all the pros and cons.

Pros

Tourism
A Tasmanian AFL team would provide a huge boost to state tourism, with interstaters coming to see their respective teams play every second week. Some may even make a long weekend away of it.

The hospitality industry would benefit greatly due to the flow-on effect, while some of these footy fans could return for a future holiday independent of the football.

Sporting Culture
There is a rich AFL culture that is burnt into the Tasmanian psyche. Ever since football was first played in Tasmania in the 1860s, support for the game has always been strong.

As the sport has the distinction of having the second highest participation rate in the country, putting a team together wouldn’t be an issue.

Supporter Base
While it has been argued that a Tasmanian team would struggle to gain support due to Tasmanians already having AFL teams, I am sure Tasmanians would make the team their ‘second team’ and become members in order to go to games.

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If you use Hawthorn as an example,  it is estimated that 25 percent of young Tasmanians support Hawthorn as their ‘local’ team. Imagine the support that an actual Tasmanian team would get from not only young Tasmanians, but all age groups?

Corporate Support
When the Tasmanian AFL bid really gained momentum in 2008, Mars Snackfood Australia signed a deal that would put forward $4 million to sponsor the team. This would mean that the government would have to pay $1 million less than they are currently giving to Hawthorn each year.

Cons

Financial Support
With the way the economy is in Tasmania, it would be hard to see a business being able to provide ongoing support for a team. With that also in mind, what business in Tasmania would have the finances to support an AFL team?

While the Tasmanian Government has said they would back the team and are willing to cover the gap on sponsorship, what then becomes of the relationship with Hawthorn and North Melbourne? Particularly as Hawthorn considers Tasmania as their biggest sponsor.

Support
It is safe to assume that most, if not all Tasmanians who follow the AFL would already have an AFL team. This could cause issues for the team because they could struggle to gain membership and support. The relationship that Tasmania has with Hawthorn and North Melbourne also has hampered their push for a team, especially as young supporters have adopted them.

In summary, the issues of both financial and community support are paramount when it comes to Tasmania having an AFL team. While it would be great for Tasmania to have a team and I can see the benefit of having one, making it a reality is a different story.

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