Blundstone Arena could host more elite football games after success of FFA Cup fixture

The size of the crowd at the FFA Cup Round of 32 match at Blundstone Arena has pleased Football Tasmania, with the venue in line to host future elite-level games.

More than 2500 people turned up at Blundstone Arena to watch the FFA Cup round of 32 match between South Hobart and Marconi Stallions on Wednesday. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

BLUNDSTONE Arena could hold more elite-level football fixtures in the future on the back of the success of Wednesday night’s FFA Cup match, Football Tasmania chief executive Matt Bulkeley says.

More than 2600 spectators packed into the Ricky Ponting Stand to watch Marconi Stallions beat South Hobart 3-0, and Bulkeley said he was happy with the turnout.

“I think the viewing was great, the pitch obviously looked great, and I think the crowd was really pleasing considering the opposition was from Sydney and would have had very few supporters,” Bulkeley said.

“I think it just shows the interest that the football community have in higher-level football opportunities.”

While the venue is more synonymous with cricket and AFL, Bulkeley said Blundstone Arena could host more football games in the future.

“I guess the reality is that if we were to have A-League fixtures and other elite-level football, then it’s a venue that we would look to use,” he said.

“Ideally we feel that we need a rectangular stadium, and obviously when we get our A-League team in Tasmania then that’s what we’d be certainly working towards.”

Stallions’ Marko Jesic and South Hobart’s Loic Feral compete for the ball. Picture: ZAK SIMMONDS

Bulkeley said an A-League team based out of somewhere like Tasmania made a “lot of sense both for the broader competition but also for football in the state”.

“We think we would be in the first two or three [cabs off the rank], because our view is always that it’s not a national competition unless there’s a Tasmanian team,” he said. “[We’re] aware we need to be ready to go, so we need to be ready to embrace the opportunity when it comes and … we are very confident about it happening in the not-too-distant future.”

Meanwhile, Bulkeley said a competitions review, announc­ed to clubs at the beginning of May and which will help decide the number of teams to compete in next year’s NPL Tasmania, is nearing completion.

“We’re in the final stages of the competition review process, we’ve had a draft set of recommendations handed down by the independent consultants and we’re sharing those with the stakeholders across the state,” Bulkeley said.

“From there, the report will be finalised and will go to the Football Tasmania board for their formal consideration and then we’ll be communicating that and, I guess, the implementation of any recommendations that come out very quickly thereafter.”