Tassie Devils CEO Brendon Gale responds to AFL club’s ‘giant mess’
Devils chief executive Brendon Gale has addressed concerns that the expansion AFL club’s stadium – and future – is in doubt.
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Tassie Devils chief executive Brendon Gale put on a brave face on Wednesday evening amid explosive reports the expansion AFL club is fighting for survival.
While a “very optimistic” Gale spoke confidently about the club being “on track” and even ahead of schedule, he did float the possibility the club’s controversial stadium – if it does go ahead – may not be ready to launch in 2028.
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The AFL’s 19th franchise went public with a plea to state government figures after Tasmanian Labor on Tuesday filed a no-confidence motion against Premier Jeremy Rockliff.
The extraordinary development means Tasmanians could be heading back to the polls if another election is called.
The move comes amid allegations the Rockliff Government has mismanaged the Apple Isle’s budget and bungled key infrastructure projects, including the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium.
That’s the venue the Devils hope to call home when they enter the AFL in 2028.
Rockliff has been one of the emerging football club’s strongest supporters — even in a climate where there has been widespread anger towards the planned $1 billion stadium.
Kath McCann, the Devils’ general manager of marketing, corporate affairs and social impact, on Wednesday broke down in tears at a press conference.
Pressure is seemingly building on the club’s entry to the competition, but 56-year-old Tasmanian Gale adopted a confident tone when he discussed the precarious situation on AFL 360.
“There’s some uncertainty around the leadership of government and … there’s a vote of no confidence in the premier,” he began. “But as far as we’re concerned, it’s business as usual.
“We’re getting on with the business, we have to, of building an organisation and building teams.
“Clearly our existence is conditioned upon the delivery of a stadium and that’s an agreement between the AFL and the state government and that stadium needs to clear passage of both Houses of Parliament.
“That process is underway at the moment and that process will run its course, that hasn’t changed.
“There’s some uncertainty around leadership and maybe the composition of parliament, but that really hasn’t changed.
“We’ve just got to get on with the job and controlling things we can control.”
The AFL has always maintained a Tasmanian team entering the AFL was dependant on a new stadium being built in Hobart.
The Macquarie Point project has been highly divisive right from the start and that was before estimated costs first began to blow out from an initial figure of $755 million.
It was revealed last month the total cost of the project has blown out to at least $945 million.
The Tasmanian state government has pledged $375 million towards the roofed, harbour-front stadium, while the federal government has committed to $240 million.
The AFL body’s $15 million contribution has also been made public, leaving more than over $300m remaining to be funded through state borrowings.
Gale was asked if he felt any unease about the budget blowout.
“Not really,” he said. “Sorry it’s a significant amount of money, but I was aware, I had line of sight.
“And to be fair, when I saw the original quotes three years ago, anyone who’s anyone involved in any form of construction or development would be aware of escalation rates the last three or four years.
“So that number was always skinny and always going to be a bigger number.
“It’s a big cost, but it’s a huge investment, it’s a really important investment and it’s an investment the government has deemed to be worth making.
“We need as a state to continue to invest in growth.”
Gale then talked through the obstacles facing the club in relation to the stadium and the Tasmanian government.
“At the moment it’s on track,” he said. “It’s in parliament now, the legislation which enables the whole development is in parliament and it’s been debated and scrutinised.
“It’ll need to clear the Lower House and enter the Upper House in late July and if it’s cleared, the government walks away with a set of planning approvals really.
“In that respect, were that to take place, it’s probably ahead of course.
“It may not be ready by round one, 2028, but there’s a process to accommodate that as well.
“As soon as possible is best for us and the AFL and the Tasmanian community, but it’s on track.”
Gale remains confident the club will proceed as planned, regardless of who leads the state, declaring it has “broadbase political support”.
He also emphasised the opportunity the Devils can provide.
“It’s not about football, it’s about the potential to lift this whole state, and we believe in that,” he said.
“You just saw the response of Kath McCann, it’s a responsibility that sits heavily with us.”
An emotional McCann had to compose herself before addressing the media earlier on Wednesday.
“This club is powered by future generations,” she said.
“I’ve got 50 students out here in my sight line, they power us every single day and they will keep doing that.
“We’re going to play on. We want to see this team become a reality because our young people deserve it.”
The football club also released a media statement confessing the political turbulence is threatening the club’s survival.
Leading Tasmanian sport journalist Brent Costelloe on Tuesday night told Channel 9 it is a “giant mess”.
The ABC’s Chris Rowbottom also described the precarious position the club finds itself in on X.
“Tasmania’s AFL license hangs by the barest of threads,” Rowbottom posted.
“There’s an acceptance that an early election spells the end of any stadium, including alternate proposals, and the Devils.”
He earlier reported there was a widely held view the “Devils will be dead” if a state election is called.
Gale spoke at length about the difficulties in convincing Tasmanians of the stadium proposal, describing them as “always big, they’re expensive and there’s always a whole range of other priorities”.
He also said existing stadiums in Hobart and Launceston aren’t “fit for the purpose of providing a sustainable, commercial business model to underpin a team in the big league on a sustainable basis”.
But the former Richmond player and chief executive reiterated his confidence in the project moving forward.
“Recent events might create some more uncertainty, but no I think parliament is very supportive,” he said.
“Even this motion brought in the last 24 hours, wasn’t about football or about the stadium, it was about some budgetary concerns, but I guess it sparked this chain reaction.
“So I’m confident the more people in the community understand the importance of the stadium, how it’s critical to meet the commercial, financial requirements of a team in the biggest sporting competition in Australia, the more they understand how it will unlock a whole range of other financial, economic, social, cultural benefits, the more people are open to changing their minds and supporting of it.
“There’s some uncertainty at the moment, but we’re very, very optimistic about the future.”
Originally published as Tassie Devils CEO Brendon Gale responds to AFL club’s ‘giant mess’
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