AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has penned an open letter to the Tasmanian football community.
The letter, which comes from both McLachlan and Head of AFL Tasmania Damian Gill where it was detailed how close the Apple Isle are to getting their own team.
McLachlan confirmed that Tasmania requires a new stadium at Macquarie Point in Hobart to receive the 19th license, confirming that they cannot support the proposed club without the venue.
The AFL also listed exactly how much they’d invest in Tasmanian football if the stadium was built.
READ MCLACHLAN AND GILL’S OPEN LETTER BELOW.
To everyone who is passionate about Australian football in Tasmania, we are getting so close.
Talk of an AFL team in Tasmania has been a constant for many years. For a variety of reasons, it has not been possible previously.
This has hurt Tasmanians who feel the state deserves to be represented by its own team in our game’s national competition. Those who feel that way about having a team based in the state are right. Tasmania should have its own team, which would mean a 19th club competing in the AFL and AFL Women’s competitions.
Finally, in 2023, it may happen.
In order for it to happen, Tasmania needs to have a new stadium – a world-class facility that will be the epicentre of a broader urban renewal development at Macquarie Point. The AFL clubs have made it clear they won’t support a new license without a stadium.
A new stadium that players want to play at, coaches want to coach at, accommodating 5,000 AFL fans travelling from interstate locations each week, with a fan experience they are accustomed to, would underpin the success of the club. The new Tasmanian club needs to be positioned to thrive from the start and long into the future, not set up to fail. New or fully redeveloped stadiums were a pre-requisite for Gold Coast SUNS and GWS GIANTS prior to entry in the AFL competition. To be clear this is not and has never been just a Tasmanian requirement.
In recent years we have seen the profound impact new and redeveloped venues have had in Perth and Adelaide. Despite initial strong opposition to those projects locally, Optus Stadium and the Adelaide Oval are now sources of great pride for the people of WA and SA, and attract huge global events which drive major economic, jobs, tourism and entertainment outcomes and boost many local industries.
The opportunity for our game at the grassroots level cannot be understated. Having a team that will inspire young Tasmanians to one day play football at the elite level, based in their home state, will drive interest and momentum in community football more than ever before.
While we know there are areas of the game doing it tough and we are committed to directing support to where it’s needed most, community football participation in Tasmania is strong. Never has the strength of the game been more evident than in recent years and the way so many great people across Tasmanian football steered local footy through the COVID pandemic, ensuring we are now in a position to thrive.
From now through to the first decade in the life of a new Tasmanian club, representing Tasmania, featuring Tassie talent, the AFL will invest around $360 million in the state, to support football and a Tasmania team, with a significant portion going towards game development and end-to-end talent pathway programs for Tasmanian boys and girls, the equal to any in the country.
This investment includes:
- Minimum of $15 million in the stadium in the arts and entertainment precinct
- $10 million in the club’s training and administration facility
- $93 million in game development – supporting and growing local footy
- $33 million to develop young male and female talent in Tasmania
- $209 million in distributions to the new club over the first 10 years to cover base funding, variable funding, AFLW funding and special list establishment funding to ensure a strong team from the start
With this financial commitment, representing the game in all parts of the state – the North, South and North West – the AFL’s vision is to take a quantum leap across community football:
- Double participation by the end of the decade
- Access to and upgrade of 70 new ovals across the state to accommodate grassroots demand
- New programs and competitions in 100 per cent of schools across the state
- A footy in every child’s hand, a footy in every home
- Major investment in participation programs, community coaches, volunteers and umpiring, which is critical to drive the next wave of talented players and administrators
- New regional academies in the South (Hobart), North (Launceston) and North West of the State (based in Penguin) for both boys and girls (from under 12 and above) to fast track the development of talent for the new club
Through the 10 per cent enshrined percentage of revenue going towards community football, the AFL has pre-approved significant additional resources to ensure this opportunity to grow game in Tasmania will not be missed. This funding injection into grassroots football will be carefully managed by AFL Tasmania and staged over the decade to maximise outcomes. The investment will be anchored in the recommendations of AFL Tasmania’s Football Futures project and the holistic vision for local football.
During the AFL’s visit to Tasmania last week, Tasmanian football legend Matthew Richardson spoke of this being the moment for the state to get behind this push, which will be a great thing for the state in so many ways. ‘Richo’ emphasised the need for a new stadium to ensure the dream is realised and said that as a footy-loving kid growing up in Tassie, it would’ve meant everything to him to be able to get behind a Tassie team.
Tasmania has been an incredible contributor to our game, and we want to secure its future as Tasmania’s game.
We urge Tasmanians and the football community to unite behind the team and get excited for everything a Tasmanian license can bring to every person and every part of this great state.
We are really close, but we need to grasp this opportunity.