Tasmanian Devils determined to start in 2028 no matter the result of state election

The Tassie Devils face themselves at the crossroads ahead of Saturday’s state election, but the club says there is nothing which will move its 2028 entry to the competition.

Tasmania Devils chairman Grant O’Brien says there “is no contingency for any other date” other than a 2028 debut for the AFL’s newest club, as the Devils prepare to run into another crossroad at this Saturday’s Tasmanian state election.

Both the Liberal and Labor parties have stood firm on support for the Macquarie Point stadium that is planned to be the fulcrum of the Devils, and a majority government win for either at the polls on Saturday should be a win for the footy club.

But a minority government – which Liberal premier Jeremy Rockliff led before a lost no-confidence motion forced the state back to the polls – would mean a return to jostling and negotiation in parliament.

That is the crossroads the Devils face – if neither party is handed a political mandate to push ahead with the stadium, the footy club could go back to deal-making with the AFL and its clubs.

Tasmanian Football Club chair Grant O'Brien with executive director Kath McCann. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

The cost of the roofed stadium rose to $945m on estimates tabled in late May.

Rockliff and the Liberal Party have held firm on not contributing any cent more than $375m from the state’s accounts, with the AFL chipping in $15m and the federal government $240m.

That leaves more than $300m to raise, likely from borrowings.

The Devils have largely been in a holding pattern since the state went into election mode and will then be back working to steer through legislation to back the stadium, and the team.

One part of the planned rollout for the club has already been pushed back, with the AFLW side that was hoped to take the field in 2027 now almost certain to debut instead alongside the male side in 2028.

But O’Brien has no interest in pushing anything else back beyond 2028.

“We’re really clear on that, our job as a board is to make sure we’re ready to have the men’s and women’s team competing in the AFL and AFLW in 2028,” he told this masthead.

“That’s our job. Everything in our planning has that date as the target date and the commencement date for the playing and operational aspect of the club. So that’s the only date we’ve got.

Devils Chairman Grant O'Brien says the club’s entry to the competition won’t be pushed back beyond 2028. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images.

“And there is not a contingency for any other date, 2028 is when the Devils come to life.”

The AFL, also, remains focused on 2028, and the election hasn’t caused any change of plans at league HQ.

O’Brien and the Devils have stayed out of the election cycle leading into Saturday’s count, aware they will work closely with whoever is elected.

“It’s the people who have got to make their mind up … there’s nothing really for us to do to try and influence or sway what people may have in mind as far as an election goes,” he said.

Labor leader Dean Winter wrote to the AFL on June 4, as the no-confidence motion pushed parliament towards and election, reiterating his party was behind the club and the stadium, a position that has remained.

“Labor will make sure we deliver the stadium through parliament. We need to make sure this project can be delivered so we can realise the dream of AFL and AFLW teams that will transform our state,” Labor shadow sport and events minister Luke Edmunds said.

Rockliff said the stadium built would turn a “wasteland” into a football home and the Liberals “have always backed the team and the stadium”.

“Macquarie Point is a wasteland that will be revitalised into a sporting and tourism precinct, creating thousands of jobs and helping to keep our economy strong,” he said.

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff. Picture: Tasmanian Liberal Party

Labor leader Dean Winter. Picture: Facebook

“A majority Liberal government is the only way to secure Tasmania’s AFL team and keep the state moving forward with certainty and stability.”

The stadium push back of the Greens and some minor party or independent parliamentarians has remained the sticking point in politics, despite support from the major parties.

O’Brien said shepherding the stadium through would not only appease the contract signed with the AFL and approved by AFL presidents to land the team licence, it would also provide “economic and social benefits for the state”.

The stadium is planned to be complete to host games at the start of the 2029 season, with the Devils to largely play out of UTAS Stadium in Launceston before then, and O’Brien said part of the contract would mean the state government covered costs of not playing in a brand new stadium at Macquarie Point if construction ran behind.

“If you look at the contract, it’s aimed at having the stadium operational from 2029,” he said.

“But if it’s not, then there are allowances in the contract for multiple years after that and part of the trade off is that there’s a contribution made to the club to make up for the commercial returns that is would get from a new stadium for the period of time the new stadium is not open.

“It doesn’t stop (the team) if the stadium’s not functional from 2029.”

An outspoken backer of the stadium from the cohort of AFL presidents, Crows chairman John Olsen believes the 23,000 seat potential home of the Devils could transform Hobart and Tasmania like the Adelaide Oval redevelopment has in the City of Churches.

Macquarie Point Stadium concept design. Picture: MPDC

Macquarie Point Stadium concept design: General admission concourse. Picture: MPDC

“All the criticism that was put up (about the Adelaide Oval) has been dissipated simply because of the performance and outcome,” Olsen said.

“The $535m that was spent on the redevelopment of the Adelaide Oval has more than paid for itself in that you get more than $300m of economic stimulus (as a result of the stadium) in the state each year.

“AFL football clubs need stadiums that can have regular and substantial attendees to underpin the financial benefits of AFL clubs.”

O’Brien is due to finish individual meetings with soon-to-be rival club presidents this month and has felt a backing of the other clubs.

But should the Macquarie Point plan stumble, it would require the clubs and the AFL to build a new agreement for the team, one that would put the Devils back in serious jeopardy.

As AFL CEO Andrew Dillon has said, the roofed stadium remains “a condition for the grant of the 19th licence” to Tasmania.

Olsen said going back to negotiations with clubs and the league was a risk.

“There is a deal on the table and the deal is the deal. Hopefully Tasmanians might support that deal come this Saturday,” Olsen said.

Despite the potential stumble of a new election, O’Brien said “I don’t think the board have ever lost confidence”.

In some respects, the Devils have already been a success given an uptick in young footballers in an original football state.

“From my point of view, the most satisfying thing has been the increase in kids participation in the sport since the announcement of the licence,” O’Brien said.

“We’ve had more than a 100 per cent increase in Auskickers in the southern part of the state and more than 40 per cent across the whole state.

“So that’s a needle that was stuck before the announcement and nothing comes close to that for me.”

For the many steps taken forward by the Devils towards 2028, some of the biggest leaps are still to come.