Tasmania split on stadium for AFL team
As Tasmanians celebrated achieving a decades-long goal – a team in the AFL – their Premier pleaded with those angry at the likely $1bn price tag to consider the long-term economic benefits.
As Tasmanians celebrated achieving a decades-long goal – a team in the AFL – their Premier pleaded with those angry at the likely $1bn price tag to consider the long-term economic benefits.
The AFL on Wednesday became a truly national league, granting the island state its 19th licence, with a team tipped to be called the Tasmanian Devils to start playing games in 2028.
Tasmania’s agreement to build a $740m-plus stadium on Hobart’s Macquarie Point sealed the deal, ending decades of pleading and demanding for recognition of the state’s football heritage.
While most Tasmanians appear enthusiastically behind the team, many remain unhappy with the cost of the stadium, at a time of crises in health, housing and the cost of living.
State Labor – which argued a new stadium should never have been agreed to by the state government – hailed the team, but stood by its stadium opposition.
Premier Jeremy Rockliff conceded the stadium cost would continue to be raised whenever there was a health, housing or education concern.
Mr Rockliff was unable to say how long Tasmanians would be repaying debt to fund the stadium, as well as housing, transport and wharf upgrade commitments made to the federal government to secure its $240m contribution.
“Like all investments you need to pay off you do that sustainably,” he said. “I have no qualms about ensuring this is an affordable, great investment for Tasmania that will reap economic benefits.”
He urged Tasmanians to consider those wider benefits. “This is a game-changer for Tasmania – (it’s) investment so we can grow our economy and fund those essential services I know Tasmanians care about,” he said.
He indicated he was willing to cop political flak over the stadium to secure the team. “If you sit back and you do nothing, you have no ambition, no drive – if you are the leader of a state and all you want to do is be premier in name only and do nothing – then nothing will happen,” he said.
“You’ve got to stand up and do something and be counted. This has been challenging. You only have to read the headlines and my social media to know where your question (about political fallout) is coming from.
“But you’ve got to … seize every opportunity you can.”
The AFL has insisted on a roofed stadium, meaning Test cricket will not be able to be played at the new venue.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the stadium need not be completed before the team entered the competition, but that there would need to be a “line of sight” to completion. This could be up to a year before the stadium was fully constructed.
While a name for the team would be a matter for discussion, the Tasmanian Devils “made sense” and he believed potential intellectual property issues relating to Warner Bros’ cartoon character could be overcome.
Mr Rockliff welcomed the AFL committing to a $360m spend on Tasmanian football over 10 years, which he vowed to ensure would “flow through to grassroots community”.
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