The subject of Tasmania’s AFL expansion bid goes back 30 years to when the league was founded and it’s popped up in the news yet again.
This time, the Tasmanian government have given the AFL an ultimatum.
The AFL must give Tasmania a date for entry to the league, or the state government will end its lucrative multimillion-dollar funding deals to Hawthorn and North Melbourne. The risk, however, is that the AFL could look at their spreadsheets and reply, “computer says no.” In fact, the AFL have already told Tasmania in response that they need another year to establish the feasibility of a team because of the financial impact of COVID-19.
Gold Coast Suns chairman Tony Cochrane has also shot down the idea saying, “We need to spend at least the next ten to 15 years bedding down the 18 teams we’ve got.”
He went on to make the point that, “it’s impossible to add one team because one team doesn’t do anything for your media rights – I’ve been in media all my life and I don’t know a media company alive that wants to purchase a bye. A bye round is worthless to a media organisation.”
In addition to this, Tasmania is now becoming a much more contested sports market. There are now other players involved like the Hurricanes in the BBL, the JackJumpers in the NBL who will be joining next season and there’s now a bid for a Super Netball team that looks like a shoo-in to fill the gap during winter.
Then there’s the new A-League bid that has surprised many. While there was already a high-profile bid led by Harry Stamoulis and Robert Belteky, this bid has now been displaced by a new separate bid led by a new consortium of so far anonymous backers. Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein also made the point to the media that an A-League side, “won’t be as expensive as an AFL team”.
He wasn’t wrong. Apart from the much lower annual cost of running the team itself, the infrastructure costs would come in at just a fraction of the price of an AFL side.
The cost of a rectangular stadium in Hobart has been estimated to cost around $110-140 million to build. Whereas the proposed AFL stadium at Macquarie Point and the associated district known as Tas Park has a price tag of half a billion, and the York Park upgrade proposal comes in at over $200 million. That’s before you even get to the elite training and performance facilities needed in both cities.
Perhaps the biggest distinction of the A-League bid though is ownership, as the bid has a consortium of private owners putting up the money. The Hurricanes, by contrast, are propped up by Cricket Australia and the JackJumpers will be bankrolled by NBL owner Larry Kestelman. But an AFL team will have to draw on the coffers of the AFL, who have already burned large amounts of money in Western Sydney and on the Gold Coast.
This is especially relevant when the situation in Tasmania has now changed.
Going back 30 years ago, the case for a Tasmanian AFL team was much simpler. It was an AFL heartland with a rich history in the sport that had produced players such as Royce Hart, Ian Stewart, Peter Hudson and Darrel Baldock back in the VFL days. It was the only game in town and without opposition from other codes, the participation rate was still healthy.
Today, however, things are very different.
According to the Australian government’s latest AusPlay survey, football participation in Tasmania is now at 30.8 per cent of kids in the 9-11 age group compared to just 11.1 per cent for Aussie rules. By comparison, figures for kids in the same age range in Victoria were 19.3 per cent for Aussie rules and just 11.8 per cent for association football. In the 9-11 age bracket, this now makes Tasmania equal first in Australia alongside Canberra in terms of football’s popularity with kids.
Going back 30 years ago, the pitch was that Tasmania should have a team because it was a heartland with a long history of involvement in the sport. Now the pitch to the AFL is basically, “give us a team or the sport will die in our state”. That’s a very different prospect for the AFL, who will now see this as essentially a recovery effort in a congested regional market which was already small.
The chances of Tasmania becoming the 19th team seem rather low.
If Tasmania is going to get a team, then it’s probably more likely to either be through either a relocation or through a merger of two other teams. Jeff Kennett seems happy for the Hawks to make the move and North Melbourne are already called the North Melbourne Tasmania Kangaroos in the AFLW, while St Kilda are now showing their own interest in the state. There’s plenty of suitors.
Or perhaps the AFL will just copy the NRL and give Tasmania a “magic round” where all the Victorian teams will play there over the same weekend. That’ll do.
Micko
Roar Rookie
I agree Gerry. Couldn't tell if you were dinkum or not! :laughing:
Gerry
Roar Rookie
Dead serious
Micko
Roar Rookie
Are you being sarcastic?
walhawk
Guest
One new team adds 11 extra games. Two new teams add 22 extra games. So one new team would add 50% compared to two new teams.
Gerry
Roar Rookie
Tasmania needs to become obsessive about an AFL team. Pulling out stops, hounding all the right people., believing against all odds and making a huge huge noise on all outlets social media and everything . Never give up. You will get there. I can feel it in my bones.
DarwinDee
Guest
Every weekend 1 in 77 Australians ATTEND a game of AFL. It is the most popular sport in the world based on an attendance per capita figure. We were told "soccer is coming" 25 years ago... then had that mantra repeated every 4 years. Yet it is still a distant 4th when it comes to actual bums on seats and eyes on TV screens in this country and will be for several generations yet.
Republican
Guest
......yep, and the same could be said in re, to Canberra.
DarwinDee
Guest
I think the point is with only 1 new team you still have only 9 games a week to show - an extra team means no extra content - 2 extra teams means an extra game every week
Steve J
Roar Guru
The AFL gives every club $$ each year as part of the disbursements. in 2019 Geelong received $12m and Gold Coast $27.5m Geelong earned ~ $17m more overall than the Suns in 2019, a $32m gap when you remove the extra funding from the AFL. I am not sure funding a Tasmanian team would be more expensive than propping up a team in the Gold Coast where they are largely ignored The Suns have eff all members ~ 14k in 2019 and sell very little merchandise. A Tassie team would easily eclipse this membership as they already have more than that in Hawks and Norths members, and I dare say would sell a lot more merch. Virtually every company in Tasmania would be falling over themselves to sponsor them, the team would become the heart of the state. It is a sad thing to look at a Tasmanian team through the eyes of an accountant or from AFL think tanks set up in Victoria to assess the viability. This should have been done a decade ago before Gold Coast and we would most likely be talking about whether Tassie will be adding to their 2 premierships in 2021 instead of talking about whether they deserve a team
13th Man
Roar Rookie
I cannot see any Hawthorn fans being particularly happy about a move south, even if Kennett would be. Your talking about one of the biggest and most successful clubs in the comp. It won't happen. North are perhaps a better candidate but I suspect their supporters to would be highly anti it. The opportunity for a new team in Tassie has been missed, as the AFL went to GC and GWS instead.
13th Man
Roar Rookie
Should have gone to Tasmania before Gold Coast or Western Sydney. We have two sides in th comp that have no real following, yet have completely ignored an AFL heartland state. Once again Gil and co were only concerned about lining their own pockets.
Republican
Guest
.......they are Nick which doesn't lessen or negate what I have stated here. The AFL are integral to 'the business i.e elite sport'.
Goalsonly
Roar Rookie
I should define my terms. Criminal: A person who cares not what they do to others as they are not one of them.
Nick Symonds
Guest
"citizens as consumers" could just as easily be changed to "fans as consumers". Well they don't call professional sport a "product" for nothing. FIFA the IOC and all these groups are part of the same thing: The Sports-Industrial Complex
Republican
Guest
.......it should be the AFL since they are apparent custodians of the code. Of course they are anything but. The AFL are the epitome of the neo liberal hierarchy that redefines citizens as consumers and where inequality is promoted as virtuous. Ethics and morals are counterproductive too 'The Market' that dictates what everyone 'deserves'. The AFL and the business i.e. elite sport has devolved a metaphor for the society we currently espouse.
JamesH
Roar Guru
I'm familiar with the situation at Bellerive, as I live on Hobart's eastern shore. I don't think either of the Tassie AFL venues needs a major capacity increase, since they're already hosting AFL matches. Their capacities (20k & 21K) sit between those of Manuka Oval (18k) and Spotless (24k) and Metricon (25k). If they need anything it would only be a minor bump. What Bellerive Oval needs is better transport options so that car parking isn't as essential. Shuttles between the ground and designated areas would do wonders for accessibility. It would definitely make more sense than starting from scratch, or at the very least to allow for a proper process to create a larger Hobart venue in the medium term. Lights turning off at 11pm is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned (night games of footy have already been hosted at Bellerive). York Park doesn't need to host night games as a second venue, although upgrading the lights wouldn't necessarily be a bad idea. And I'm not sure what your MCG comment means - do any interstate teams play a home game at the MCG?
Goalsonly
Roar Rookie
Given the potential of extinction of AFL in Junior Tasmania. I seriously consider the remembrance of a beautiful Australian animal to be most appropriate for the Tasmanian AFL team. The Thylacine is an icon that would win hearts nationwide. Who wouldn't cheer for such a beautiful animal? Of course it's neglect was criminal. Something to do with money I believe.
bagley
Roar Rookie
There is a good article on the ABC news site about us Bludgers at Hawthorn, In 2017, a PricewaterhouseCoopers report calculated that about $30 million was returned in the Tasmanian economy, per $5 million spent on bringing the Hawks to Tasmania. The deals struck between the State Government and Hawthorn have never been about football. As i have said on this forum the only person at Hawthorn who wants us in Tasmania is Jeffrey himself and some of the business people down there who make a tidy sum from the tourism, the article questions the value in terms of grass roots development and how much of a contribution the Hawks and North make in these terms, but should the clubs be responsible for this or should it be the AFL? I think development should be up to the local clubs (which are said to be folding) and the AFL.
Micko
Roar Rookie
Yep, a waste of money from tassie taxpayers for sure.
Mooty
Roar Rookie
Bellerive Oval has been turned from a suburban oval with one grandstand, into what you see today about ten or so years ago. It is surrounded by residential houses on three sides and the beach on the other. There is no room to extend in any direction, especially up as the locals successfully stopped the cricket from building higher and putting in car parking. Under the conditions of the re construction the use of the lights are restricted to a certain amount of times per year and switched off at 11 pm. As for York Park, I believe a lot of that is heritage listed, for what ever reason I’m not sure, last time I was there (2016) the whole place was a mess. Better parking, but the Uni is about to take over some of that area, the lights aren’t up to standard. For Launceston I think a new build would be necessary but who’s going to do that to get one more game a year than what they get now, after sharing with Hobart, not forgetting that all teams play at least one home at the MCG