Tasmania AFL: We can’t have a team without a stadium, so get on board

If you are against a new stadium in Hobart you are against Tasmania being part of Australia’s premier national competition — there are no ifs or buts. EDITOR’S VIEW >>

If there is one thing the people at the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania business luncheon learnt yesterday it’s that if there is no stadium there is no team.

That means a 30-year dream is up in smoke and the hard work of so many Tasmanians over three decades was for nothing.

The other point to remember is it’s not just Gill McLachlan making the demand for a stadium, it is the other clubs in the competition.

Each of the 18 club presidents are in control. They have the power to decide if Tasmania is given the 19th licence and most have agreed that if a stadium is part of the deal then the licence will be granted.

No stadium means it is very unlikely the presidents will give the Tasmanian bid the green light.

Polly’s View: February 24, 2023.

So it figures that if you are against a new stadium in Hobart you are against Tasmania being part of Australia’s premier national competition. There are no ifs or buts on this. But that’s what we see many politicians doing at the moment.

“Yes, we are in favour of a team but we don’t want a stadium,” is the line coming from many from both sides of the political divide.

What’s worse is the group of politicians actively campaigning for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese not to fund the project.

What politician actually thinks campaigning against funding for the state is a good thing?

Fair enough if it was a toxic waste dump or nuclear reactor, but a multipurpose stadium that would benefit everyone in the state?

The 2014 Macquarie Point masterplan, featuring an AFL stadium, by The Office for Collective Design.

It’s just crazy. Especially as Mr Albanese just announced $4.5bn in stadium funding for Queensland for the Olympics. As Premier Jeremy Rockliff said on Thursday, that’s just for a two-week event.

The AFL side, and all the extras that come with the stadium, will serve Tasmania for at least 50 years.

The other positive is a $360m injection from the AFL over 10 years.

And in McLachlan’s speech yesterday the revelation the AFL would help fund the stadium with “at least $15m”. The words “at least” are key, the AFL really does need to step up with more.

Originally published as Tasmania AFL: We can’t have a team without a stadium, so get on board