The Jump Pad
The Jump Pad is a safe, flat inflatable made in a variety of sizes which can be used indoor or outdoor. From 3mx3m up to a whopping 9mx21m. Markets include Indoor and outdoor playgrounds, schools,…
read moreTasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has called on the AFL to provide a solid timeline for when Tasmania will get its own team, threatening to end the state’s financial support for Hawthorn and North Melbourne occasional fixtures in Hobart and Launceston.
Premier Gutwein is reported to have written to AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan this week with an “ultimatum” to the AFL about a timeline for a standalone Tasmanian team.
Premier Gutwein’s letter threatened that without a solid timeline, the Tasmanian Government will end negotiations and financial support for Hawthorn and North Melbourne playing AFL Premiership fixtures in Hobart and Launceston.
Ending financial subsidies to the Hawks and Kangaroos was a recommendation from a Tasmanian taskforce into establishing a new AFL side in the state released in February last year.
The taskforce also found that Tasmania had the capacity to fund a team and there was significant community interest in having one established.
While local Tasmanian interests have backed the plan, the threat to withdraw financial support for Hawthorn and North Melbourne is seen as high risk.
While the call for a Tasmanian AFL could be successful, it the Melbourne teams depart the state would suffer a $30 million dip in winter tourism income.
In addition, on ABC Radio on Friday, Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett questioned the viability of having a team based permanently in Tasmania.
While Kennett supported the call for more clarity around the situation he questioned whether the AFL could afford a new team given the revenue implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, stating “my heart says yes to a Tasmanian team at some stage. My economic mind says the last thing I want is a Tasmanian team that's going to fail.”
Independent economist Saul Eslake, who has been a long-time advocate for a Tasmanian team, said it was well established that the Tasmanian Parliament was willing to help support a team.
Eslake stated "why should Tasmanian taxpayers pay to subsidise games between, on the one hand, Hawthorn and North Melbourne and, on the other, non-Victorian interstate clubs which would lose money if they were staged (in Melbourne)?"
Eslake said the economic benefits of having an AFL team based in Tasmania would be wide-ranging, telling the ABC “the first one is that we would - assuming we were treated with the same respect as every other team - host 10 or 11 games here rather than four or six.
"Some of them would be against big drawing teams like Collingwood, or Essendon, or Richmond. Rather than against teams that have no followers outside of their home states.
"Therefore, all of the benefits that have been identified from hosting four games at York Park and two at Bellerive, they would be magnified."
On Thursday evening the City of Launceston endorsed a $208 million Future Direction Plan for the city's UTAS Stadium, an upgrade that will enhance the hosting capabilities of the venue.
It has also been reported that AFL Northern Territory has been sitting on a taxpayer-funded report it commissioned to map out a local bid for a Darwin-based AFL club for nearly 18 months.
Image: North Melbourne playing at Hobart's Blundstone Arena (top) and concepts, released this month, for a redevelopment of Launceston's UTAS Stadium (below, credit: City of Launceston/Philp Lighton Architects.)
12th February 2021 - AFLW reaches membership record in fifth season
8th February 2021 - $200 million plus redevelopment plan proposed for Launceston’s UTAS Stadium
2nd February 2021 - Carlton FC announces elimination of debt and new membership record
1st February 2021 - Approval given for Tasmania’s larger entertainment venues to increase capacity
28th January 2021 - Ticket Sale Success and ‘This Is Us’ Campaign marks AFLW 2021 Season launch
21st January 2021 - Tasmania hosts Australian Superbikes Championship for the first time since 2015
4th January 2021 - AFL stakeholders advance stadium plans in Cairns and Darwin
20th October 2020 - AFL’s Gabba Grand Final to be played in front of 30,000 fans
25th August 2020 - AFL Tasmania Chief Executive Trisha Squires heads to Queensland
2nd July 2020 - Tasmania secures new NBL team for 2021/22 season
28th February 2020 - Agreement announced for Tasmania to host 10th NBL franchise
7th February 2020 - AFL Taskforce report shows Tasmanian team viable and sustainable
23rd October 2019 - Concept revealed for stadium for Tasmanian AFL franchise
15th October 2019 - Tasmanians back state’s AFL bid
26th August 2019 - Tasmanian Government taskforce calls for AFL licence and new stadium
27th June 2019 - Derwent Entertainment Centre needs significant upgrading to host Tasmanian NBL team
5th June 2019 - Project team appointed to build case for Tasmanian AFL
9th May 2018 - Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett warns of sports betting ‘indoctrination’
21st March 2018 - ‘Hard decisions’ ahead for AFL in Tasmania
13th March 2018 - Hawthorn President Jeff Kennett slams AFL’s international expansion plans
4th June 2016 - New deal keeps North Melbourne playing AFL fixtures in Hobart for five more years
22nd December 2014 - Cricket Tasmania unveils new Blundstone Arena stand
29th January 2014 - New lighting unveiled at Aurora Stadium
14th April 2013 - Bumper crowd demonstrates economic benefits of AFL
21st January 2013 - Kangaroos’ games at Blundstone Arena deliver $2.5 million
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