Key AFL figures accept invitation to join NT task force as push for a Territory team intensifies

The NT claiming the 20th licence could open the AFL to the rest of the world, while further tapping into the mass of talent growing in the north, key figures have said.

The establishment of an NT team could be realised within the next decade, with key figures stating the location could open a pathway for the AFL into the rest of the world.

The discussion of the NT claiming the AFL’s 20th licence remerged this week with the completion of a strategic business case, which outlined the key financial and social boons a team could bring.

Former AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said there was a lot to like about the NT’s bid while speaking on SEN breakfast on Thursday.

Demetriou oversaw the expansion of the competition from 16 teams to 18 in his time in the top job, and said the NT’s proximity to Asia and the current situation made it worth exploring.

“There’s a lot of things I like about it. The NT has great football history, a lot of great footballers have come from the region and it would be great for that area to have an AFL presence,” he said.

“I’m passionate about the national competition, passionate two new teams came in under my watch and with Tasmania in, it would be great to explore if there is room for another team.

“The NT is the gateway to Asia and there’s a lot of economic activity at the moment, so if you’re looking at expanding the competition there’s a lot going for it.”

Sean Bowden, Chief Minister Eva Lawler and Minister Kate Worden at the announcement as Northern Territory task force has completed a business case into the viability of a AFL team in the NT with Areyongo (Utju). Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Demetriou, alongside former AFL greats Nathan Buckley and Andrew McLeod, accepted an invitation to join the NT’s task force that will ensure the region is ready when a 20th licence becomes available.

The taskforce has been headed by AFLNT chairman Sean Bowden and NT sports minister Kate Worden since its inception in 2021.

The completed business case has given them increased confidence a NT team will become an eventuality within the next seven to 10 years.

“We dare to dream in the NT, we dare to think big and we continue to seek to push ourselves into the mainframe of how we lead our Australian way of life,” Mr Bowden said.

“I would be confident we would be close to Tasmania when they join, the NT government has already invested in extra games for Darwin through the partnership with the Suns.”

Hand-in-hand with a team will be the construction of a new Darwin city stadium, estimated to seat 20,000 seats, over the current stadium of TIO Stadium at Marrara.

“Ultimately to realise our full ambition and the Northern Territory as the gateway of Australia into Southeast Asia we need to look for a city stadium,” Mr Bowden said.

“I am confident Territorians will back this project, but it’s very important we do the master planning work, there’s nothing to be gained in nominating sites without taking the thinking to the public.

Sean Bowden, Chief Minister Eva Lawler and Minister Kate Worden at the announcement as Northern Territory task force has completed a business case into the viability of a AFL team in the NT. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“The economic case put through this business case is very strong, and the biggest challenges for us are going to be talent pathways and winning the belief of the national competition.

“We have to address population growth if we’re going to reach our ambition, the NT is a great place to live, but we have to enhance liveability, and having these opportunities is a big part of that.”

NT sports minister Kate Worden said having a team would have a massive impact on Territory youth, who love football, but had to go down south to pursue the sport.

“We’ve exported some of the best players who have become household names nationally and we want our players to have a pathway to a team in the NT,” she said.

“Names like Nathan Buckley and Andrew McLeod wanting to join us is indicative of that, because if you spoke to them they would have preferred to have played for the NT in the long run.

“We are taking those steps to make sure we don’t just arrive and say we want an NT team, but we know what it takes to get there, and this strategic business case delivers on that.”

CLP sports spokesperson Jo Hersey said an AFL team in Darwin would be great, but first certain Territory needs needed to be met.

“We’d love to see our own AFL NT side but to build the infrastructure and following needed, we must grow our population and strengthen our economy,” she said.

“The CLP will do this by addressing the crime and antisocial behaviour and backing in small business.”

Game on: Key figures enter NT’s bid for Territory licence

May 8, 2024: Some of the biggest names in the AFL landscape have accepted an invitation to join a taskforce driven to bolster the Northern Territory’s bid to claim the 20th AFL licence.

Former AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou and AFL champions Nathan Buckley and Andrew McLeod have joined the NT’s task force aimed at investigating the feasibility of an NT AFL club.

Demetriou is a particularly big coup for the taskforce having played a major role in the expansion from 16 teams to 18 when GWS and the Gold Coast joined.

The announcement comes as the taskforce, headed by AFLNT chairman Sean Bowden and Sports Minister Kate Worden, finalised its strategic business case.

The business case estimates a team in the NT could be formed within the next seven to 10 years, and that the project will bring more positives than just sport to the Territory.

It found that an NT AFL club provides justification for a multipurpose stadium in the Darwin CBD and will elevate the profile of Darwin in both a social and economic sense.

Nathan Buckley has joined in the NT’s bid to become the 20th AFL team. Picture: Keryn Stevens

The 20,000 seat stadium is expected to come hand-in-hand with the team, with upgrades and refurbishments to secondary stadiums such as TIO Stadium and Traeger Park also expected.

A permanent team will bring with it more than 160 full time jobs and promises a $100m-plus boost to the Territory economy, as the government pushes for a $40bn economy by 2030.

It comes off a 2019 feasibility study that forecast an economic benefit of $559m to the NT if the new club was provided a new stadium and training facilities.

In 2020, the NT had more than 13 leagues, 180 clubs and nearly 40,000 participants in the sport, and yet with Tasmania getting the 19th licence is the only major region without representation.

A previous proposed AFL Stadium for Darwin.

The Territory produces more elite level players per capita than any other state or territory and attracts fans to games in Alice Springs and Darwin.

In the meantime, the NT government will fund partner AFL clubs to attract additional AFL and AFLW games to the region.

The Darwin region currently have a partnership with the Gold Coast Suns, which sees two games played at TIO Stadium each year, while about 10 Territorians are on their AFL or AFLW lists.

The Dreamtime in Darwin match between Essendon and Richmond in 2020 saw 99 per cent of available tickets sold within 15 minutes of ticket sales going live.

Darwin was voted as the most popular option to have the 20th licence by AFL captains leading into the 2024 season.

A multi criteria assessment which examined multiple options to include the Top End in the AFL found a solely NT AFL club license to be the most attractive to key project stakeholders.

However, other options including a Northern Australia licence to split home games between Cairns, Alice Springs and Darwin, or an existing club relocation were also considered.

The assessment also says an AFL team has a great way of presenting the NT not only as a place for people to come to, but also as a place for people to stay, an issue the region has faced.

AFLNT chairman Sean Bowden said a NT team would make the AFL a truly national competition. Picture: AFLNT Media

Bowden said the Territory coming on board would make the AFL a truly national game, and there would only be positive outcomes out of an NT side.

“Just as importantly, a Territory team would give our young people not just a team to follow, but a dream to aspire to,” he said.

“Whether as a player, a supporter, a physio, a team manager, a statistician, or media broadcaster and these options will be here in the Territory, not interstate.

“The AFL has a proven track record of positively influencing community outcomes in relation to education attendance, mental and physical health, crime and anti-social behaviour and equality.”

NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler said that a long term plan to get a team was the best way to ensure success.

“This process and the strategic business case is about making sure the NT is ready to make a bid for an AFL licence when one becomes available,” she said.