The amount of football that is being played in Tasmania currently could be increased if AFL Tasmania’s Chief Executive Scott Wade has his way.
Wade believes that AFL Tasmania would be able to present a viable model to an existing AFL club to play eight matches per year in Tasmania split evenly across Hobart’s Blundstone Arena and Launceston’s Aurora Stadium from 2017 onwards.
“We actually believe that we’re going to be able to present a proposal whereby the state of Tasmania may well be an attractive market for a number of AFL clubs,” Wade said.
“We’re an attractive proposition for a club that might want to embrace Tasmania as their primary development market without having to relocate.
“We think Tasmania can be a market for a club to prosper.”
Currently, Tasmania’s market is shared by Hawthorn who play four matches per season at Aurora Stadium while North Melbourne play two matches per season at Blundstone Arena.
The reason that AFL Tasmania would not be able to present a case earlier than 2017 is due to Hawthorn’s deal at Aurora Stadium finishing at the end of the 2016 season.
North Melbourne’s current deal with Blundstone Arena expires at the end of the 2014 season.
If AFL Tasmania succeeded in being able to lure a current AFL club to play eight matches per season from 2017 onwards, which club would it be?
Wade mentioned that the preference of AFL Tasmania would be to have Hawthorn as its club representing Tasmania solely.
However, while it may have been a serious possibility in previous years for the Hawks to consider, Hawthorn has turned their fortunes around to be a strong AFL entity in Melbourne both on and off the field.
Thus, the likelihood of Hawthorn being based predominantly in Tasmania would be highly unlikely.
When there is talk of AFL relocation, North Melbourne are generally spoken about as being a side to be relocated elsewhere.
However, the North Melbourne Board, led by President James Brayshaw, would be against playing most of their games outside of Victoria as they have maintained a strong stance on being a predominantly Victorian football club.
It is highly unlikely that other Victorian clubs such as Melbourne, Western Bulldogs and St Kilda would consider such a move to be playing the majority of their matches in the Apple Isle.
While there has been much discussion about Tasmania fielding their own AFL side, there is reluctance from the AFL to introduce a 19th side into the competition anytime soon.
At the moment, the AFL’s focus is upon supporting the new sides Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney in becoming successful clubs that can stand on their own feet so expansion into Tasmania would be off the cards for quite some time yet.
If Tasmania want to have more AFL matches in their state, the most likely scenario for the short to medium term is to have Hawthorn continue its arrangement with Aurora Stadium while North Melbourne increase the number of matches they play in Hobart to either three or four per season.
Although that would mean there are still two tenants of AFL Football in Tasmania, Tasmania would be gradually stepping closer into making more of a viable claim to have its own team play in their state.
Imperious
Guest
Really and change their name to the Wanderers???
Jason
Guest
A man can dream, a man can dream. I doubt the raiders and particularly the brumbies will just 'drop off its peg' simply because the AFL decides to placea team in the area.
Bob Anderson
Guest
GWS could play 3 games in Canberra, 3 games in Hobart, 3 games in Launceston, and 2 games in Western Sydney.
Bob Anderson
Guest
What about 3 games in Hobart, 3 games in Launceston, and 5 home games in Melbourne? Would still be a majority of home games in Tasmania but not by that much. Plus they would still play a lot of "away" games in Victoria, so supporters could still see them regularly. They could also continue to be based and train in their current location.
Bob Anderson
Guest
That's the genius of this proposal, the team would still be based in Victoria, play equal number of games in Hobart and Launceston, and still have some home games in Melbourne.
Chairman Kaga
Guest
Sydney is the largest tv market in the country and in a city with the largest finance sector. West Sydney Giants will be one of the last teams to relocate. If anything, the league would be planning to put yet another franchise in Sydney.
Chairman Kaga
Guest
Simple, the AFL needs to get enough cash behind it to stay the course till one of the other codes drops off it's peg.
Pat
Guest
Send GWS down there - they have zero support anywhere in Sydney and are costing hundreds of millions of dollars. They are the greatest waste of a professional sporting team I have ever seen -send them where they may be appreciated.
fadida
Guest
You know Tasmania only too well Ian :)
fadida
Guest
I remember those girls :)
Franko
Guest
Interesting to read that Timmuh. Wade has a fairly big conflict IMO being a former Hawthorn player. I think the local clubs have every right to be furious with their governing body for helping out Victorian AFL sides instead of looking after their own. The only people that should be more furious than they, is the Tasmanian tax-payer that is subsiding the whole thing, their ‘sponsorship’ of Hawthorn is a joke.
Imperious
Guest
The Raiders and Brumbies get average crowds of 10K (some Raiders fudging there) and there is no corporate bas in Canberra to speak of. The brumbies had to get ACT Govt help to get Computer Associates a sa a sponsor and the Raiders went against federal Govt advice to get Huawei which might bit them in the future. The GWS option is the best at this stage unless the NRL or Brumbies leave town...Whats more important is what is the AFL going to offer extra for the TV broadcasters in 2016 - I suggest a 19th team so there is a bye every week during the year and 9 games a week - I'm not sure how some teams double up on the byes towards the end of the season but the current system of 3 weeks of 6 games a weekend is poor esp as the opposition is either playing SOO or internationals...
Brian
Guest
Team get 11 home games a year so any club that played more than 5 games in Tasmania wouldn't be a Victorian team playing in Tasmania but a Tasmanian team that plays some games in Melbourne.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
Like anyone else, the more times caucus members (I mean board members) are in the media declaring "full support" the quicker the coach should buy some armour to deflect any knives plunged into their back.
Franko
Guest
If anyone else has systematically supplied drugs to their players, they'll deserve the same treatment, my team included. If I found out that Ports superior fitness this year was down to drug cheating, I'd fully expect to be kicked out of the league for a period of time. If there is more than one club cheating: Step right up Darwin, Canberra, Tasmania or possibly Port Melbourne, Norwood, Swan district or Bendigo, Ballarat, Albury I don't really care.
Timmuh
Roar Guru
At least we know anything Melbourne are taking is not performance enhancing. In fact, it was probably left in the MCG dressing rooms by the Australian cricket team.
Jason
Guest
Not sure if Canberra could support a Super 15, NRL and AFL team. Might be just a bit too much commercially speaking....
jrod
Guest
Why not give them the Melbourne, Sydney or Collingwood license, cause I can promise you that the bombers are not the only ones taking legally questionable supplements,
checkside
Guest
If a team was created in Canberra would the coach have a full term of three years if elected?
Chairman Kaga
Guest
Precisely. The longer they do that, the less inclined the AFL will ever put a club there. It is like a gf who puts out and expects nothing back. Why would you bother marrying her? Just keep stringing her along.