Supporting an AFL hub in the NT is a no-brainer but we’ll likely have to fund it

THE Northern Territory might never again be offered an opportunity like the one the AFL has just put on the table. But there will likely be a catch, writes MATT CUNNINGHAM

While AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan’s letter to Chief Minister Michael Gunner makes no mention of funding, it’s almost certain the league will want something in return for bringing the country’s most-watched sporting competition to the Top End

THE Northern Territory might never again be offered an opportunity like the one the AFL has just put on the table.

But there will likely be a catch.

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While AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan’s letter to Chief Minister Michael Gunner makes no mention of funding, it’s almost certain the league will want something in return for bringing the country’s most-watched sporting competition to the Top End.

That’s going to be a difficult dilemma for the cash-strapped NT Government. Where does it find the money?

There’s one obvious place to look.

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Last year the NT Government spent more than $7 million bringing back the Arafura Games. Some of that money was required to fly athletes and officials to Darwin for events watched by a handful of people.

We should scrap the Arafura Games and get an AFL Hub in Darwin. Picture: Glenn Campbell

The Government scrapped a planned cost-benefit analysis of the event, and replaced it with a report released four months after the Games finished.

It found the final cost was $7.2 million, but declared the event a “success” as visitors spent $7.1 million while in the Territory.

After it tacked on an “indirect” contribution of $6.53 million it arrived at a final value of $13.63 million for our $7.2 million outlay.

That’s still hardly a great return on investment.

It’s almost certain international travel restrictions will mean next year’s Games will be cancelled.

In this context, supporting an AFL hub looks a no-brainer.

Comparing the AFL to the Arafura Games is a bit like comparing Disneyland to Wobbies’ World

One of the biggest complaints from retailers about the Arafura Games was that its competitors didn’t spend much money.

That’s unlikely to be the case with a few hundred cashed-up AFL stars.

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It will also ensure hotel staff – many on international visas – can remain in work here.

But the biggest bonus will be putting the Northern Territory on the map.

With international tourism likely to take years to recover, the NT will need to attract domestic tourists once coronavirus restrictions are lifted.

There could hardly be a better way to do that than by having games of football played in the glorious Darwin dry season screened to millions of house-bound southerners shivering through a freezing winter.