FOOTBALL OBSCENITY UPON POLITICAL OBSCENITY

EXAMINER: From The Editor's Desk Sunday June 12, 2022 

Tasmania is often described as being an AFL "heartland" that has for some time been desperate to be recognised by the AFL as a legitimate place for an expansion club. ........................... With a number of great AFL players coming from Tasmania, the news that AFL head Gil McLachlan was travelling to meet with Premier Jeremy Rockliff to discuss granting Tasmania the AFL's 19th licence was met with great interest. ........................... The campaign to get Tasmania it's own AFL team has straddled so many boundaries, whether that's media boundaries, political boundaries or even sports boundaries. ........................... But McLachlan's ultimatum to Tasmania is not a moment that should be seen as surprising. This is especially true with the way the narrative around the state's chances have changed. ........................... There is now some obvious resistance from AFL clubs about having a 19th member. ........................... Mr McLachlan made it official on Thursday while standing next to Premier Jeremy Rockliff - for the state to have its dream realised, the proposed $750 million waterfront stadium in Hobart must become a reality. ........................... As well as a hurdle that other expansion clubs have not had to overcome, the AFL chief has just handed Mr Rockliff something that will be a very hard sell indeed, especially to those in the North and North-West. ........................... Launceston has long been understood as being the "home of AFL" in Tasmania, it was something that was planned when the York Park (now UTAS) Stadium was built. Bellerive, on the other hand, was panned as the home of cricket. ........................... AFL fans in the North and North-West will be justifiably disappointed in the claims from AFL House, because of the inference that the new stadium will be the home base of any Tasmanian AFL side. ........................... The cost aside, it is likely to be at the expense of the North, if that stadium is built. How long will the charade of "games in Launceston" or "the North" be played before they are all subtly shifted to the south? ........................... The question now, despite the obvious desire to be part of the AFL, is whether it is actually worth it if this expensive piece of infrastructure is a non-negotiable. ........................... One thing is for certain though, Launceston and the North (as well as the North-West) should not be forgotten in this decision.

THE BIG QUESTION: The Editor or anyone else for that matter, did not raise is IF this obscenity is built, how many homes will NOT be built?

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AFL: Labor and Greens question Hobart stadium after Gillon McLachlan's Tassie visit  ... Adam Daunt By Adam Daunt Updated June 10 2022 - 4:14pm, first published 3:30pm 

QUESTIONS: Labor and the Greens have questioned the proposed Hobart Stadium after Gillon McLachlan's visit to Tasmania 

Concerns have been raised for what the proposed Hobart Regatta Ground foreshore stadium means for the future of AFL in the North of the state. ........................... It comes AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan reaffirmed that the proposed $750 million dollar stadium was a 'contingent' factor for Tasmania's bid for the 19th licence. ........................... Former Windermere independent MLC Ivan Dean believed that Launceston and the greater North was at risk of being left behind. ........................... "I had strong support and I still have strong support for a Tasmanian team but I do not have support for this monstrosity in Hobart at this time," he said. ........................... "It just spells danger for Launceston, why would they have a new stadium in Hobart and then still play five or six games in Launceston, it's not going to happen. ........................... "I don't begrudge Hobart having a you-beaut stadium, I am not that parochial but it's not the right time for it and it spells the end of AFL football in Launceston as we know it." ........................... While UTAS Stadium has proposed plans for a plans for a $208 million upgrade to improve its capacity to 24,112 with retractable seats, the suggested Hobart stadium would have 30,000. ........................... Earlier this year, the AFL Taskforce has indicated that an ideal split of 11 home matches a year would be a five-six allocation between Launceston and Hobart to be swapped yearly. ........................... Sports Minister Nic Street backed a similar model in March, with five games for the South, five for the North and one for the North-West Coast. ........................... Launceston Mayor Albert van Zetten revealed the council had a plan to safeguard the AFL action. ........................... "The council intends to negotiate a Memorandum of Understanding with the state government in respect of future content and use for the stadium, which will ensure the North and North-West continue to enjoy top-level AFL, cricket, soccer and other forms of sport and entertainment," he said. ........................... "Northern Tasmanian football fans have a proven track record of supporting those games and we know that North-West Coast fans are more likely to travel to Launceston than Hobart. Attendance figures over the past several years support that. ........................... "We do want assurances that Northern Tasmania will retain its share of significant AFL content into the future." ........................... Gillon McLachlan ...........................Hawthorn have played home games at UTAS Stadium since 2001 while North Melbourne have played home games at Bellerive Oval since 2012. ........................... Greens leader Cassy O'Connor indicated UTAS Stadium and Bellerive Oval negated the need for the proposed Hobart arena, which she labelled a 'pipedream'. ........................... "Tasmanians have been paying for rich Melbourne teams to play here, all without a pipedream stadium, in our great existing stadiums north and south," she said. ........................... "After years of sending our best and brightest players to the national league, as well as the millions the state has poured in to the Hawthorn and North Melbourne deals, we deserve more respect from the AFL." ........................... Dean believed there would consequential flow-on effects for other industries if Launceston missed out on AFL action. ........................... "Our entertainment areas miss out, our restaurants miss out and all the other businesses that rely on people attending their premises miss out," he said. ........................... "McLachlan said that nobody he has spoken to is against it, well, he hasn't been in the North of the state and he hasn't been in the North-West of the state or even probably to the East Coast and those areas because the people I've spoken too are very strongly in support of our position." ........................... Political lines drawn........................... Support for the proposed Hobart stadium has wavered between the state opposition and the Tasmanian Greens, who labelled the stadium as 'needless' . ........................... As part of the Tasmanian bid, the three major Tasmanian political parties launched a campaign with bi-partisan support alongside the 'Last Push to Play On' commercials. ........................... However, that support is not bi-partisan for the proposed stadium, with concerns raised over it's necessity . ........................... O'Connor slammed the proposed stadium concept given the social issues impacting the state. ........................... "Gil McLachlan must have a hide of steel, rocking up in Tasmania - while people are sleeping in freezing conditions in their cars, and in tents - and demanding we build a needless stadium," she said. ........................... "Given the health, housing and cost of living crisis in Tasmania, we made it clear to the Premier and the AFL Taskforce that we did not support the proposed $750M floating stadium." ........................... The Labor party echoed the sentiment that it's support did not extend to the stadium. ........................... "We offered our full support for the government's bid based on the briefing we were provided, which did not include a floating stadium, a fact that was confirmed by Premier [Jeremy] Rockliff again this week," they said in a statement. ........................... "Tassie deserves an AFL team but we shouldn't have to pay $750 million to join the national competition." ........................... The $750 million stadium - which features a retractable roof and 30,000 capacity - has become a centrepiece of the state's push for the next AFL side. ........................... The Tasmanian government has also pledged $150 million for the bid including $50 million in a high-performance centre, and $10 million per year for a decade. ........................... Jack Riewoldt ...........................On Thursday, McLachlan arrived in Hobart to further discuss the state's AFL future with Premier Rockliff and Head of AFL Tasmania Damian Gill in attendance. "Whether it's contingent or however you want to frame it, and I'll take responsibility for this, this team needs and will have a new stadium if it wants a licence. And I think Tasmanians will expect that, north and south," McLachlan said. ........................... Former Premier Peter Gutwein unveiled the stadium plans in a state of the state address in March and said it was contingent on the state being approved for an AFL team. ........................... While the funding split for the stadium between private investment, state and federal funding is yet to be revealed, right to information documents obtained by Labor showed that site specific costs are yet to be specified for the stadium. ........................... "It now appears former Premier Gutwein might have overplayed his hand by announcing an unfunded floating stadium commitment, with no plan for delivery, that has been caught up in the bid for an AFL team," Labor said in a statement. ........................... READ MORE: McLachlan says new stadium a must for Tasmanian AFL licence ........................... Rockliff used Perth's Optus Stadium and the South Australia's Adelaide Oval as examples of how sporting infrastructure can revive a city. Both of the stadiums cited by Rockliff went over-budget from their original estimated price with the Perth stadium costing $1.6 billion dollars after being estimated at $1 billion to $1.4 billion reportedly and reports putting the final cost of Adelaide Oval at $610 million. ........................... Richmond Tigers forward Jack Riewoldt supported the Premier's view when asked for his thoughts on the Tasmanian bid. ........................... "The AFL is clearly playing hardball about the stadium, which is one thing they want to see go hand-in-hand with the team being allowed to have the licence," he said on SEN Tassie. ........................... "I am glad people are using Adelaide Oval as a good example, it's not only going to be a football mecca, it's going to be a huge cultural mecca. ........................... "We do need a stadium, 100 per cent you need a stadium and the AFL want to have that enstoned that it comes as part of a 19th licence."