Committee investigating potential for a Tasmanian AFL team to hold public hearings next month

A parliamentary committee inquiring into the potential for a Tasmanian AFL team has been told the current direct return on investment will only grow with our own team.

Hawk Ricky Henderson runs with the ball during the AFL match between the Hawthorn Hawks and the Brisbane Lions in Launceston. Picture: DARRIAN TRAYNOR/GETTY

A TASMANIAN AFL team would bring more tourists to the state, but the team would need the ongoing support of the State Government to survive, the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania says.

The council is one of 14 individuals and groups to make a submission to the Legislative Council committee inquiring into AFL in Tasmania and a potential AFL team for the state.

The committee met on Friday and chairman Ivan Dean said public hearings would be held next month.

“We’ve set down two days at this stage to hear from some who have [made a submission],” Mr Dean said.

In its submission, released publicly on Friday, the Tourism Industry Council said a “very real potential for a Tasmanian AFL licence” was emerging.

Chief executive Luke Martin said AFL games in Launceston, and more recently in Hobart, had brought visitors to the state during traditionally quiet periods.

“We believe the direct return on investment from the current AFL content in Tasmania can only grow with a team of our own,” Mr Martin said.

He said the AFL gave between $10 million and $25 million to each club, depending on its size and financial strength, and should be expected to make an ongoing investment to a Tasmanian team that was comparable to what it has committed to its two newest teams, Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast.

“The suggestion that the Tasmanian Government will continue to invest heavily in supporting AFL content in Tasmania with our own team — either directly or through its government businesses — seems entirely reasonable when you consider the far-reaching economic and social impact an AFL team will have on the state,” Mr Martin said.

Mr Martin said all state governments invested heavily in AFL and other elite teams based in their state, and all supported major events.

“In a Tasmanian context, every AFL game held in the state is a major event generating direct and demonstrable returns to the state through visitor activity, branding and economy activity,” he said.

Mr Martin said national corporate sponsors would be attracted to supporting a Tasmanian team, as well as local companies.

He also said a Tasmanian team should play home games in the North and the South of the state.

In the State Government’s submission to the committee, Deputy Premier Jeremy Rockliff repeated the Government’s support for a Tasmanian AFL team and said the recently established Tasmanian AFL Taskforce was putting together a business case for a team.

“An AFL team for Tasmania could have the potential to attract thousands more visitors to our state, injecting millions of dollars into our northern and southern communities, while at the same time propelling the Tasmanian brand into one of the broadest reaching national sporting platforms.”

Football Tasmania said the organisation supported a Tasmanian AFL team, but urged the committee to consider how State Government funding is awarded to different sports.

According to Sports Australia figures, there were 34,581 Tasmanians of all ages playing soccer for the two-year period from January 2016 and the sport received an estimated $300,000 in State Government funding, or $8.70 per player.

During the same period, there were 24,275 Tasmanians of all ages playing Aussie rules, which received an estimated $8.5 million in State Government funding, or $350.15 per player.

“We are concerned that the way the Tasmanian Government allocates funding to support recurrent spending, particularly on grassroots competitions and talent-pathway development, is not aligned to any performance-based or participation-based criteria,” Football Tasmania chief executive Matt Bulkeley and president Bob Gordon said.

“As a consequence, some sports in Tasmania are receiving disproportionately more funding from the State Government compared to others … We want to ensure every young Tasmanian playing a recognised major sport is afforded equal opportunities to reach the pinnacles of their sport.”

AFL Tasmania did not make a submission to the committee.