There is an urgent need for the AFL and the Tasmanian Government to work together and upgrade York Park in Launceston to hold at least 30,000 spectators, regardless of whether it continues to be Hawthorn’s part-time home or Tassie gets its own team.
Attendances at the Hawks’ games in the past two seasons, largely confined to fixtures against South Australian and West Australian teams that would have struggled to attract decent numbers in Melbourne, show that the market is there for bigger crowds at more attractive games.
The Hawks, surprisingly, have captured a consistently loyal Tasmanian following since St Kilda, which seemed the most logical team to do so, pulled the plug in 2006 after four years playing home games there.
The Saints developed a huge fan base in Tassie in the 1960s, when wily club secretary Ian Drake, himself a Tasmanian, attracted a “foreign legion” of Apple Islanders that was largely responsible for winning their only premiership in 1966.
Darrel Baldock, Ian Stewart, Verdun Howell, John Bingley and Bob Murray, who was born in Tasmania but never played there, were stars in that team, with Tasmanian fans hanging on their every move.
Howell was so popular in his native Launceston that he wrote a weekly column for The Examiner, which was quite an innovation for a regional newspaper in those days.
He was also one of the chief drawcards in the Victorian team (this was long before State of Origin) that played Tasmania at York Park in 1960 and went down in history by losing.
Back in those days, when black-and-white TV as just starting up in Tasmania, and for many years after the advent of colour, there was an outcry if the St Kilda game didn’t make it, at least in highlights form, on to Tasmanian screens.
But 40 years later, perhaps because many of those fans had gone to the great oval in the sky, St Kilda didn’t find playing home games in Tasmania to their liking as much as they had hoped, and pulled the plug after eight matches between 2003 and 2006.
The Saints averaged more than 17,000 fans at York Park only in the last of those years, when they attracted an average 17,108.
The figures for the other years were 16,704 in 2003, 16,615 in 2004, and 15,772 in 2005.
The Hawks’ averages in the two years since arriving at their sponsorship deal with the Tasmanian Government, under which they play four home games a year, have been 17,403 in 2007 and 17,528 this year.
Before then, Hawthorn had made 12 home-game appearances at York Park, making a total of 20 games between 2001 and 2008, with their best result 20,971 against Richmond in 2006, the record AFL turn-out at the venue and just about as many as can be crammed in.
The only other visiting Victorian teams have been the Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne (two games each) and Geelong (one).
The Hawks’ second-best crowd was the 19,929 at the Brisbane Lions’ only Tasmanian appearance (this year), and apart from those games the visitors have always been from South Australia and Western Australia.
St Kilda’s biggest crowd was 19,223 against Port Adelaide in 2004.
Both teams’ worst crowds were against Fremantle – Hawthorn’s 13,862 in 2006 and St Kilda’s 12,465 in 2005, the lowest crowd for any official AFL home-and-away fixture at York Park.
Fremantle was also involved in the two next-worst attendances, 14,554 in 2004, and 15,066 in 2002, both against Hawthorn, and the average crowd for the Dockers’ six appearances has been only 14,740, the worst of any visiting club against either the Saints or the Hawks.
The game the Tasmanian fans would really like to see, of course, because there is still a considerable amount of sentiment behind the Saints, is Hawthorn v St Kilda.
But that would probably attract at least 30,000 fans, well beyond York Park’s capacity, so it won’t happen in the foreseeable future, because it would be madness to spurn the larger crowds the two teams attract in Melbourne.
Hawthorn’s Tasmanian games, though, even against lesser teams, will become even more popular now that the Hawks have won the flag.
Which is why money needs to be spent on upgrading the Launceston ground’s facilities, with a new covered grandstand on the eastern wing the first priority.
One of the obstacles to be overcome will be, as always, the internecine squabbling that has gone on since time immemorial in Tasmanian football politics.
Too many of the game’s administrators believe that if it’s not in Hobart it doesn’t deserve to exist, and the Government and the AFL need to hit this on the head.
Hard.
York Park is not only the best football ground in Tasmania, it is also one of the best in the AFL, and much better located than Hobart for spectators from the state’s north-west coast, so forget all about Bellerive.
Now is the time to do the work on the upgrade, because a 30,000 to 40,000 capacity stadium will be a far more attractive proposition for the AFL when it finally realises the futility of its western Sydney pipedream and sends its 18th team where it rightfully belongs.
Dave
Guest
MC Part of the reason MV dont fill TD to a greater extent and would assume similar with Storm at OP is the action is too far away. A rectangular stadium will increase Storms ave crowd, MV will get near capacity regularly and Melb will get a Super 14 team, as well as having some Socceroos Asian Cup qualifiers, ACL games, Rugby teasts etc etc. So MC the new stadium (BTW shooting up and looks fantastic) will be well used and filled and a great addition to what will be just about the best sports precinct in the world.
Redb
Guest
BW, Can't agree. Football and cricket have a symbiotic relationship as far as grounds go. These are the only two sports that use oval grounds. Think drop in pitches, and its all good. ;-) Redb
Bruce Walkley
Guest
Richdaddy, as I said at the start of my piece, the government and the AFL should share the cost. Looking past the Hawthorn agreement, If you put in a Tassie team or relocate another side from Melbourne you've got 11 games, not four. As for numbers, I'd bet on 35,000 for Hawks v Saints on a fine day. And Redb, please leave cricket right out of it - Bellerive is a great cricket ground, and Launceston has its own very nice cricket ground, too, where Keith Miller once hit a six that went over the poplar trees and broke the windscreen of a car in the parking area outside midwicket. Let the cricket officials and the government look after their own grounds as separate entities. The thing about York Park as a great football ground is that there's no cricket pitch, and may that continue to be the case.
Redb
Guest
MC, Yes but at least Melbourne has 3.8 million people, Hobart has about 180,000, Lonny 100,000?. What is obvious is the 31,000 capacity is on the money for the majority of MV games. Hopefully we'll get a Super 14 team to use the stadium as well. Redb
Michael C
Guest
Dave - so, why is MVFC and Melb Storm getting a new stadium? Storm can't fill OP to capacity and MVFC TD crowd avg has dropped so far for the 2nd successive year and now stands around 22K...............does your logic still apply?
Redb
Guest
that shoud be 'correct on'. :-)
Redb
Guest
rich_daddy, Correcton the 4 sporting events, if you include cricket in the equation the other issue for me is the split between Hobart (Bellerive) - cricket and Launceston (York Park) - football. Any redevelopment should happen where both cricket and football can benefit. Redb
Rich_daddy
Roar Guru
The question is whether the cost associated with upgrading the stadium is worth it. Increasing the capacity would cost a few million, then the ongoing cost of maintenance would also increase. Considering only 4 games a year are being played there, it might not be worth the money. The other question where would the money come from? Most likely the Tassie Government would have to pay as I can't see the AFL or Hawthorn contributing substanially. Not sure about the state of the Tassie economy, but I doubt they have millions of dollars burning holes in their pockets. Does seem like the capacity should be increased, but I think more than 4 major sporting events would need to be played there each year to justify the additional costs.
Millster
Guest
Oh my god Bruce, I find myself agreeing a column you wrote :-) Maybe with RedB's reservation that 25-30000 rather than 40000 would be more reasonable, I could not agree more that for the AFL to explore the untouched yet AFL-receptive fields of Tasmania makes a lot more sense that to join the fray in Western Sydney against their own Swans, a number of NRL franchises, and the rising force of football. Even football itself - stronger on 'fundamentals' (socio-economics, demographics) in that part of the world than AFL will ever be - seems to be looking for alternatives to the west of the big smoke, with the Illawarra alternative gaining momentum of late as a quasi second-Sydney, seemingly ahead of the original Parra/Homebush or Penrith plan.
Ken Guy
Guest
Ah! Bruce, Written like an old Launcestonian. I will agree that York park is by far the better ground, vis a vis North Hobart. Nth H always reminds me of the old pocket handkerchief Glenferrie Oval, cosy, but like squeezing six fans into a Fiat 500. It's a hard decision to upgrade York Park ,as 'Dave' & Redb point out. Hawthorn are the 'Roosters' today, but how long, or short, before they're feather dusters? On the other hand, do the Tassie Govt and local AFL backers take a gamble on our great game ever expanding throughout the map of Tassie? Like most decisions of this kind it all gets down to money.
Dave
Guest
They cant fill it to capacity now why would they increase the capacity? If they had sellouts every game then yes increase the size. Make it more comfortable for sure by putting a roof on but it would seem crazy to waste money to increase capacity.
Redb
Guest
BW, I think they should make some improvements to get it to 25,000 max. That is sustainable based on the population. Jst because Hawthorn is successful now does not mean they will in 5 years, building a 30 to 40K set stadium with such a small population is madness. Western Sydney's entry into the AFL should be postponed not cancelled. Redb