Tasmania plots Gather Round for inaugural Devils season in 2028

Gather Round is locked in to be in South Australia in 2026, and likely 2027, but one rival state has begun informal discussions to host footy’s marquee weekend the year after.

Tasmania is keen to gatecrash Gather Round for the 2028 season even as the AFL continues negotiations with South Australia over an extension past the current deal’s expiry next season.

But the league would have to forgo some of the $30 million it earns from Gather Round each year to hand Tasmania the event given its financial commitments to its new team.

Tasmanian chairman Grant O’Brien confirmed to this masthead informal discussions had taken place with the league about whether Tasmania could potentially host a future incarnation of the blockbuster weekend, with the Devils’ first year in the competition his ideal scenario.

O’Brien is also the chair of Tourism Tasmania, which would be desperate to spruik the state’s wares and tourism potential with a wildly successful event like Gather Round.

But South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas is confident he can broker an extension with the AFL well ahead of the expiry of the current contract for next season, which he would ideally announce by this Sunday.

Grant O'Brien Chair Tasmania Football Club (L). Picture: Tasmania Football Club

The league has secured around $90 million in cash and infrastructure spending from the 2024-2026 deal, which will include two games at a newly expanded ground in the Barossa Valley.

But the AFL is also keen to find ways to turbocharge Tasmania’s introduction into the AFL from 2028 and a Gather Round event.

The AFL could extend Gather Round in Adelaide for only one more year — to 2027 — to give the league some options ahead of Tasmania’s introduction.

But O’Brien said he would push for Tasmania to take the reins from 2028 as part of the team’s slated entry to the competition.

“We have at least three stadiums at three points of the island and others that would be equal to those in Adelaide,” Tasmania chairman Grant O’Brien told this masthead on Monday.

“The $130 million UTAS Stadium redevelopment will be finished in 2027 and will be a top of the range facility, and Ninja Stadium (Bellerive Oval) is more than capable as it has shown.

“We have wilderness, wineries, art … to showcase Tasmania in the team’s first year in the competition would just be fantastic.

“It would be the perfect welcome party for a new team entering the competition … I really do think it is something that should be shared.”

The AFL could also explore Gather Round in Brisbane when the Lions acquire their new Victoria Park stadium for 2033 after it is used for the 2032 Olympics.

Gather Round will be in SA until at least 2026. Picture: Dean Martin

Devils chief executive Brendon Gale will represent the AFL’s 19th team in Adelaide this week as industry heavyweights descend on the City of Churches and club head honchos meet to discuss a range of issues in the game.

O’Brien did not believe that waiting for the proposed Macquarie Point stadium should be a sticking point for hosting the event, saying Bellerive Oval was a more than adequate stadium to play its part for Hobart in what has become a showpiece weekend for the AFL.

Tasmania officials are hopeful that the league could see past any potential windfall for the wider benefits of the state hosting in the team’s inaugural season.

A state that is already forking out up to $1 billion for a new stadium to be in place by 2029 would be unlikely to be able to stump up tens of millions a year for Gather Round.

Malinauskas said recently South Australia was working on a new extension.

“We would love to be able to extend Gather Round, no doubt about it,” he said.

“But I’m very clear minded about the fact that we can’t just expect Gather Round to come our way each and every year. There’s competition in the market for it — that’s understandable given its success.”

Originally published as Tasmania plots Gather Round for inaugural Devils season in 2028