Footy party could come unstuck given everyone wants to be premiers

AFL boss Andrew Dillon with (from left) Taya Parker, Oliver Kelly, Jimi Partridge and Caitlin Evans at the Tasmania Football Club launch on Monday. Picture: Getty Images

Amid all the hoopla associated with the launch of Tasmania’s new AFL team lurks an MCG-sized party-pooper. Put simply, it may never happen.

Monday night’s celebrations are a like a wedding reception for nuptials the bride and groom have not yet said “I do” to.

While almost everyone in Tasmania wants the long-fought-for team, the price tag imposed by the AFL – a likely $1bn stadium – is fiercely opposed by a good chunk of the population.

Many northerners don’t like it because it’s not in the north. Many southerners because it’s so expensive, at a time of cost-of-living pressures, and crises in health, education, housing and public transport. And then there’s ballooning state debt.

A win by state Labor on Saturday would almost certainly sink the stadium. Leader Rebecca White has dismissed the need for the Macquarie Point colosseum – Tassie already has two AFL stadiums – as well as the likely cost.

“We have a bigger problem with people not fitting into our hospitals than we do with them not fitting into our stadiums,” White argues.

Also lining up to sink the project is a team of independents and minor parties who have hitched their election campaigns to the “no stadium” bandwagon.

The AFL unviles the new Tasmania Devils jersey.

So even if the Liberals cling to power via a minority government – few believe they can win a ­majority – they will not control parliament. That’s significant for the stadium because under law it must be approved by both houses of parliament as a major project.

The AFL’s best-case scenario is a Liberal victory, but even then Premier Jeremy Rockliff has “capped” state expenditure on the stadium at $375m, which few ­experts believe will be nearly enough, even if the private sector can be leveraged for more.

Throughout, the AFL has ­remained steadfast: no stadium, no team.

Politicians, including ­belatedly White, were staying away from Monday night’s celebrations to “avoid politicising” the great event.

Sadly, for AFL lovers, it is far too late for that.

Whether it’s too late for the team will depend, post-election, not only on the numbers in parliament but on the willingness of those elected – and the AFL – to compromise.

One way forward could be a longer lead time to build the ­stadium and more of a contribution from the AFL.

Hopefully, wiser heads will prevail and the state will finally take its rightful place in the ­national competition.