The AFL club presidents have voted unanimously to grant Tasmania the game’s 19th licence, fulfilling decades of dreams for a team from the island state.
Key points:
- Tasmania has had failed bids to join the AFL since the 1990s and has a partnership with Hawthorn to host games
- The state’s new AFL team is expected to enter the league in 2027
- A $715 million stadium at Macquarie Point is forecast to be finished in 2028-29
During a video meeting this afternoon, the presidents reached a decision within 15 minutes and there were no objections.
The granting of the licence now goes to the AFL Commission for a formal ratification.
An official AFL announcement of the licence is expected as early as Wednesday.
The announcement of $240 million in federal funding towards a 23,000-seat stadium at Hobart’s Macquarie Point was the final hurdle to be cleared before presidents could vote on Tasmania’s bid.
“It’s not an Australian Football League if it leaves off the south island, and that’s what has occurred for too long,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday at the stadium funding announcement.
Under that plan, Tasmania will enter the league in 2027, first playing games at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval and Launceston’s York Park before the new stadium is finished in 2028-29.
The island state has long eyed an entry into the league, launching its first serious bid in 1994 for a team and a 30,000-seat stadium at the Hobart Showgrounds.
The rejection and dismissal of the state continued when another bid was launched in 2008.
When AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan entered the top job in 2014 he said it could be a decade before a Tasmanian team bid would be considered by club presidents. Tasmania has secured a team in nine years.
The addition of a 19th team means the league will go back to having an uneven number of clubs, with one of the 19 sides to have a bye each round.
Stadium seals the deal for AFL
Tasmania’s final, successful bid for a state team was launched by former premier Peter Gutwein and delivered by current premier Jeremy Rockliff.
An AFL stadium in central Hobart became part of the bid, with the AFL selecting Macquarie Point as its preferred location over an earlier proposal of the Regatta Grounds.
The Tasmanian government estimates the fixed-roof AFL stadium — a first for Australia — will cost $715 million.
Tasmania is set to chip in $375 million for the project, with $240 million from the Commonwealth, $15 million from the AFL and $85 million in “borrowings against land sale or lease for commercial uses”.
The plan to grow the team and the sport in the state includes a state government contribution of $144 million over 12 years for the team and $60 million to establish a high-performance centre in Hobart.
Design plans for the high-performance centre have been sent to the AFL but have yet to be released publicly.
The AFL bid did have tripartisan support from the Liberal government, Labor and the Greens until the stadium became a feature of the bid.
Labor supports Tasmania gaining an AFL licence but do not agree that a stadium is a requirement.
“If I was Premier and had a billion dollars to spend to benefit Tasmanians, I would spend it on real priorities like improving our health system, building more housing, and lowering the cost of living.” state Labor leader Rebecca White said at the weekend.
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‘Maybe this isn’t going to happen’
Former Woolworths chief executive officer Grant O’Brien, who was part of the taskforce which put together the business case for the bid, admitted the past 18 months had provided many ups and downs.
“Rollercoaster is a pretty good description” he said.
“We were always confident the business plan stacked up, and then to get someone like Colin Carter to endorse it gave us great heart.”
“But these things are never that simple, there’s 18 presidents that needed to be convinced, the commission itself and the government and political issues as well.
“There were times where we looked at each other and said ‘maybe this isn’t going to happen’.”
Mr O’Brien, who hails from the state’s north-west and is now the chairman of Tourism Tasmania, said the controversial Macquarie Point stadium, while divisive, was needed to ensure the long-term viability of the team.
“It’s right that high bar was set both financially and from an infrastructure point of view” he said.
“But something the AFL made clear from the early days is that these licences aren’t built for the next five, 10 or 15 years. They need to be built to last for the next 100 years.
“It’s money that generates a return whether that’s the team or the stadium. Yes, they’re big numbers, but they’re investments that provide a return.”
Speaking from London, Mr O’Brien said he would be walking tall on the other side of the world off the back of the news.
“I brought my little Tasmanian footy badge with me and I plan to walk the streets with it on today. Hopefully someone will recognise that and we will share the joy of the decision.”
Too high a price for team, say Greens
The Tasmanian Greens, who withdrew their support for the team after establishing an anti-stadium stance, described today as “bittersweet” for Tasmanians.
“We’ve got a team, but what a price to pay,” leader Cassy O’Connor said.
“We didn’t deserve to be blackmailed by the suits in the AFL or a jelly-back premier willing to kowtow to them.”
Ms O’Connor described the stadium deal as “a betrayal of the Tasmanian people”.
Hecklers confronted the prime minister and premier at the weekend announcement of stadium funding, calling for money to be spent on housing and healthcare in the state instead.
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