Jeff Kennett says time for AFL to reveal plans for Tasmanian team as vision for new stadium emerges

Jeff Kennett says ‘time to deliver has arrived’ on a 19th AFL licence. And a stadium has emerged as a prototype for a new venue that could keep the dream of a Tassie team alive.

Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville

The Tasmanian Government’s affordable, fully-funded vision for the stadium that will seal a 19th licence is based on Townsville’s Queensland Country Bank Stadium.

Judgement Day is approaching for the Tasmanian bid, with a vote still expected this month and Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett declaring on Monday of the AFL: “Time to deliver has arrived”.

Tasmania’s bid believes a covered-roof stadium funded by the state and federal governments with private-partnership investment could be delivered for less than $500 million.

But as the bid for a historic Tasmanian licence enters the decisive month of August, significant tension remains between the league and government over the AFL’s refusal to approve the $150 million offer that underpins the licence.

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The Tasmanian government and task force remains adamant the league only made clear in recent months a stadium agreement had to be in place before AFL presidents would agree to a 19th licence.

The $1.25 million feasibility study being conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers is still 4-6 weeks away and will not be delivered by the time presidents vote on a proposal, but the vision for the stadium remains.

The Herald Sun can reveal Townsville’s 25,000-seat $295 million stadium and Dunedin’s 30,000-seat Forsyth Barr Stadium (built for $198 million) are the inspiration for a new covered-roof venue.

A new Tasmanian stadium could be based on Townsville’s CBD stadium.

The stadium which houses the North Queensland Cowboys was built with $140 million of state government funding and $100 million of federal government funding as a multipurpose venue which opened in February 2020.

The Tasmanian government believes even with a rapid escalation of building costs in recent years a new stadium could be built for much less than the initial $750 million guesstimate.

The hope is a new stadium at Macquarie Point could be built for $400-$500 million, with the state government prepared to tip in half of that cost.

The Jeremy Rockliff government has already engaged with the Albanese federal government about matching a contribution for a stadium on the Macquarie Point site next to the Hobart CBD.

Critically, the government is open to a hotel on the site and even a convention centre that could bring about significant private partnership investment and eventually make the stadium and precinct cost-neutral.

It is understood the AFL has told the Tasmanian government it needs to have conditional funding set in stone for the stadium, with plans to turn sod on building by the time a new team plays its first game.

Queensland Country Bank Stadium in Townsville.

Key figures in the 19th licence bid remain upset that 10 weeks after the government offered $150 million of start-up capital – $10 million over $10 years and $50 million for facilities – the AFL has made no formal response.

Those figures believe a collective response to solving the challenging aspects of the bid would have been more constructive than the league’s approach of trying to squeeze the Tasmanian government for every single dollar.

But the AFL believes significant ground has been made that will allow it to sign off on most of the 11 “workstreams” before the submission goes to the AFL Commission, with the stadium issue still a work in progress.

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett told the Herald Sun on Monday clubs had no idea when they would receive the official paperwork for the bid that requires a consensus decision from the 18 clubs to march forward.

“Time to deliver has arrived. We have asked for a date for the meeting and there is no paperwork yet. It can’t be pushed back. It has to be resolved by August because that’s what the AFL have publicly said. It will be paperwork from the Tasmanian government and the AFL and we will take it to our (club) boards and come back and make a decision.”

Ground-level view of Townsville CBD North Queensland Stadium concept design.

Premier Rockliff’s strongly-worded statement last week that the government could withdraw its funding offer without due AFL respect was a chance to condition Tasmanian taxpayers to the idea the league might make it too hard for the state to have its own team.

“We are very close to a final decision and I have called on the AFL to make good on its commitments and to treat Tasmania with the same equity and respect it has provided other states,” Rockliff said.

“The only way we make history is together.”

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said on June 9 of the bid after his meeting with Rockliff: “Football believes Tasmanians deserve a licence, but it also has a responsibility to the industry and for the growth everywhere.

“So, in the end it will be the deal, if the deal is right for football it will be supported, and if it is not, then it won’t.”

Originally published as Jeff Kennett says time for AFL to reveal plans for Tasmanian team as vision for new stadium emerges