At risk of losing the Devil they know, the AFL stands firm to keep Tassie's footy dream alive
Whatever happens in Tasmanian politics, whoever leads the island state, the AFL's position has not budged one millimetre: The Devils will only enter the competition if a roofed stadium is constructed at Macquarie Point.
No stadium, no team.
That position was reiterated by the AFL on Wednesday, as the Tasmanian parliament considered and debated the potential removal of Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff, whose support for the stadium has been critical to the agreement that would see the Devils become the league's 19th team.
The AFL has a contract with the Tasmanian government, which has to provide this expensive stadium (opponents dubbed it 'the Gil Mahal' after departed AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan) – as the price of admittance to the competition that has long plundered Tassie's players and dollars.
A hard-headed portion of the 18 rival club presidents will sniff Tasmania's political convulsions and hope that this uncertainty surrounding the stadium scuppers the 19th license.
Those presidents know that, should the Devils collapse, that $360 million designated to Tassie over a decade will remain in the AFL coffers, and the drafts of 2027, 2028 and 2029 that are slated for pillaging by the new team will be preserved.
But rendering the Devils an endangered species in utero is certainly not the wish of the AFL hierarchy – now led by CEO Andrew Dillon – who want to see the Devils delivered in 2028, and the stadium that will cradle the infant club completed shortly thereafter.
The Devils were spooked by the political unrest on Wednesday, as a tearful senior executive Kathryn McCann pleaded for the politicians to stick with the stadium deal, which is not a matter of negotiation for the AFL.
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