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News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
‘Would rip the heart out of the state': ‘Brutal reality' of Tasmania's $1 billion AFL saga
The blowtorch has turned on the AFL over its handling of the Tasmanian stadium saga, with fears the expansion team's entry into the league may be delayed or cancelled for good. The future of the AFL's 19th team is in serious doubt after a no-confidence motion against Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff was passed amid debate over the new stadium proposed to be built in Hobart. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. Thursday's no-confidence motion means Tasmanians are set to return to the polls, with an election date yet to be determined. The move comes after ongoing allegations the Rockliff Government has mismanaged the Apple Isle's budget and bungled key infrastructure projects, including the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium — 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. Tasmania's parliament was due to vote within the next six weeks on special legislation designed to grant planning approval, but an election could derail the stadium plans. Debate has erupted this week over whether the new stadium needs a roof or whether Hobart needs a new stadium on top of the existing Bellerive Oval. Others have highlighted the fact AFL games have been held this year in Darwin, Ballarat and Alice Springs at venues that don't exactly boast the modern day infrastructure the Tasmanian franchise is being asked to deliver. Premiership winning Collingwood defender Jeremy Howe, a proud Tasmanian, has warned that pulling the rug out from the Tasmanians and cruelling hopes of an AFL team would permanently scar the state. 'It will rip the heart out of the state if it doesn't go forward,' Howe told Triple M's Rush Hour with JB & Billy on Thursday. 'The carrot has been there dangling for decades, and then all of a sudden, it's within reaching distance and everyone's become attached to it. 'Everyone's talking about it, there's a genuine excitement about it. If it doesn't get done, I fear for what the state might look like.' 'Tasmania needs the AFL more than the AFL needs Tasmania' It has long been expected Tasmania and then a Northern Territory team will complete the AFL as a 20-team competition, but the league's expansion is in serious doubt now. The stadium saga has exposed an uncomfortable truth for Tassie fans — the Devils have been given a much higher bar for entry into the AFL than the GWS Giants and the Gold Coast Suns, who joined the league in the early 2010s. Seven's AFL reporter Mitch Cleary wrote on X: 'The brutal reality is that the AFL was desperate to introduce the Giants and Suns to grow the game into NSW/QLD so they were always going to have a lower bar for entry. 'Tasmania needs the AFL more than the AFL needs Tasmania. So the deal was always going to be tougher to secure.' For what it's worth, this season GWS has an average home crowd of 11,715, while the average attendance for Gold Coast Suns home games is 13,625 — with MCG and SCG matches bolstering the league's attendance figures. Aussie Rules has a rich history in Tasmania, with countless legendary players including Jack Riewoldt and Matthew Richardson growing up in the island state before getting drafted to the AFL. Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan spent his entire playing career in Tasmania before going on to become the first AFL premiership winning coach who hasn't played V/AFL football. Launceston's UTAS Stadium hosted two elimination finals during the Covid-affected 2021 season. The political uncertainty in Tasmania means the Devils' future is in doubt and the timeline of the team's entry into the AFL The new 23,000-seat stadium, was supposed to be built in time for the 2029 AFL season, with the hope it would host cricket matches and other entertainment events. 'The stadium, everything, has been thrown into chaos,' Cleary said on Seven. Nick Riewoldt added: ''90 percent of the (Tasmanian) people I speak to or hear from, want the stadium. I think Tasmanian's are united in their desire for a stadium and a team. 'This (the no-confidence motion) is a really risky move. Either we come through with a clear mandate, which will push it through, or the whole thing blows up. It's on a knife's edge.' 'Incredibly frustrating, I hope Dean Winter has got a plan.' Labor opposition leader Dean Winter said he supported the AFL team and the stadium, but the state had other priorities as well. 'We support the Tasmanian Devils and the AFL team that Tasmanians have dreamed of forever,' Winter said. 'But I've got to say that I've got a lot of very high priorities around health and education. 'Yes, we absolutely support getting this team, but Tasmanians, when I talk to them, they talk about cost of living, they talk about education, they talk about the future for our young people. 'I'm not prepared to stand idly by and let this Liberal government led by Jeremy Rockliff ruin this state.' Liberal senator Jonathon Duniam has told ABC News he is 'angry' with no-confidence vote in Rockliff and the decision to head back to the polls. 'Thirty-five members of the Tasmanian government in their collective wisdom to not find a way to not send Tasmanians back to an election just baffles me,' he said on Friday morning. 'No stadium, no team' Devils CEO Brendon Gale has said the 'no stadium, no team' condition for Tasmania's AFL entry remains crucial, stressing Hobart and Launceston's major venues are still 'not fit' to 'underpin a team in the big league on a sustainable basis'. When asked on Fox Footy's AFL 360 if the 'no team, no stadium' policy to introduce Tassie was 'too ambitious' and that 'too many stumbling blocks' had been placed in front of the key stakeholders. Gale said: 'No, I just think it's been a difficult concept to explain (why we can't play at existing venues). 'Firstly, there's no good time to build a stadium around the world. They're always big and they're expensive, and there's always a whole range of other priorities … Whether it's Adelaide or Perth Stadium, they're difficult to get through and get popular support. 'I guess that's compounded by the fact that people in Tasmania think: 'Well, we've got two perfectly good stadiums in Hobart and Launceston, why can't we just have those?' And they're reasonable stadiums and they've been fit for purpose. But they're not fit for the purpose of providing sustainable commercial business model to underpin a team in the big league on a sustainable basis.'
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Tassie Devils CEO Brendon Gale responds to AFL club's ‘giant mess'
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. FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer. 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.
ABC News
6 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Tasmania building strong case to join Super Netball competition as AFL expansion chances hang in the balance
The future of Tasmania's AFL club may be in doubt as the proposed Macquarie Point stadium is used as a pawn in the state's ongoing political stoush. But there's a campaign building for another sports team the Apple Isle could throw its support behind that won't rely on new infrastructure being built. For several years, Netball Tasmania has been vocal about its desire to join the Super Netball league. When the Collingwood Magpies were disbanded at the end of the 2023 season, they left a hole that had to be filled in order for the elite domestic competition to fulfil its broadcast deal. Netball Tasmania, Netball ACT and the Gold Coast Titans all expressed their interest in the spot, before each party pulled out of the race due to time pressures. Ultimately, the eighth licence was awarded to Craig Hutchison's media company SEN and the Melbourne Mavericks were born. The process opened a can of worms about expansion, as people started to speculate what might be possible beyond 2026 when the league's current partnership with Fox Netball ends. Netball Australia says it is exploring all possibilities when it comes to expansion — whether that be incorporating more Australian or New Zealand teams. Here is the case for Super Netball to expand into Tasmania in the coming years. Although Netball Tasmania wasn't quite ready two years ago to enter the league, the conversations had around that time made the member organisation aware of the kinds of things they needed to put in place for the next opportunity. Similarly to what Hawthorn and North Melbourne have done in the AFL over the last decade, Collingwood had a Super Netball agreement in place with Tasmania to take one of their home games per season to the state. Games would be played at either at the Silverdome in Launceston (capacity 3,255) or the Derwent Entertainment Centre in Hobart (capacity 4,500). That tradition has now been carried on by the Mavericks. At their round six game against the Queensland Firebirds in Hobart, the official crowd was 2,857 and it's expected this number would grow if Tasmanians had their own team to barrack for. These two stadiums offer more seating than the Sunshine Coast Lightning currently have at their home venue, so they'd be the perfect size for a start-up Tasmanian side. Additionally, due to the fact that the Tasmanian Wild already exist as a team in the Super Netball Reserves competition, the existing club infrastructure means a Tasmanian Super Netball team would be less expensive to establish and would save taxpayers money. Tasmania has increased its netball participation base by 10 per cent over the last two years, taking its total number in 2024 to just shy of 10,000. Although it may have a much smaller pool of athletes than other member organisations around the country, the state punches above its weight. Five Tasmanian players were selected in this year's Australian under-17 and under-19 squads. "I believe it would be a really compelling proposition to have our whole state united for a female-led sport," Netball Tasmania CEO Mitch Coulson told ABC Sport. "Tasmania is well and truly on the radar of other sports so we want to make sure netball can grab a piece of that and that we stand our ground. "The reality is yes, we have a smaller participation base, but I think everyone here has a strong resolve to prove that we can produce athletes as good as anyone else. "They work so hard — if not harder — to push themselves to a standard that gets them noticed, but the big question beyond that is still, where does that lead?" Currently there are 10 full-time playing contracts for each of Super Netball's eight teams. There is also an extra six-month full-time contract for an 11th player on offer and roughly four training partner contracts per club. When you compare that ratio with netball's one million participants nationwide, it is clear just how difficult it is to break through to the top. Coulson said Tasmania would therefore be open to signing a Super Netball roster that blends talent from their state and elsewhere. Funding of course is a big factor, but the member organisation is already in discussions about obtaining that cash and is also considering private equity stakes and ownership. "For the size of its participation, the number of professional netball contracts is extremely disproportionate compared to other codes, and to attract the best female athletes, we argue a team here would also be beneficial for the broader game," Coulson said. "We believe we've earned it … We've had multiple years with growth in participation and there's lots of other codes making noise down here, so it's an interesting time for Tasmanian sport." The Tasmanian Wild will compete at the upcoming Super Netball Reserves play-in tournament and extended finals weekend that takes place from June 16-22. Super Netball Reserves is in its second season and runs across seven rounds as a tier two competition, contested by eight academy teams aligned with the Super Netball clubs. Tasmania, ACT and the Northern Territory have only been invited to the back end of the tournament and will play each other once to determine how they will be ranked for the finals weekend against the Reserves sides. This format will replace the Australian Netball Championships this year as the governing body reassesses its pathway offering. As a result, the three state-based sides have less opportunity to play. Coulson is pushing for Tasmania to be incorporated for the full tournament next year. "Although the bigger dream is to get into the fully fledged Super Netball competition, our addition to the Reserves format would serve as an ideal launching pad," he said. In the meantime, another step Netball Tasmania took this year was to form an alliance with Netball South Australia. This, they hoped, would create a pathway for their athletes to the top level as they work towards their own Super Netball team. Two athletes who have been picked up already include Ellie Marshall and Charlotte Walker, who have been playing for the Adelaide Thunderbirds in Super Netball Reserves. Walker has already had a stellar year. She was signed as a training partner to the senior side of the two-time premiership winning club and made the Australian under-19 squad after an impressive campaign at nationals. At the Thunderbirds, she has been learning from the very best. Australian under-21 head coach Cathy Fellows is an assistant there and Walker was also training alongside star Jamaican duo Shamera Sterling-Humphrey and Latanya Wilson in the lead-up to the season. Walker is now in the frame for selection for the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup. "Unfortunately, Tasmania doesn't have its own Super Netball environment, so this step up in another state has been huge for me," Walker told ABC Sport. "I've been getting advice from some of the best defenders in the world — they've taught me how much I can contest outside the circle, that's really opened my eyes — and I've been practising against some of the best shooters in the league too. "Growing up I never imagined in a million years that I could get picked as a training partner, so I think if our state had a team, it wouldn't seem so out of reach. "Until then, I can't see anything wrong with being friendly with every state and trying to create more of these partnerships, because it opens up more opportunity. "Even having a Tasmanian Reserves side would also offer us that higher competition as well."
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Tears as AFL's Tasmania team falls apart over state government plot
The Tasmania Devils are fighting for their survival with political chaos rocking the entire state on Wednesday. The AFL's 19th franchise has gone public to make 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 after ongoing allegations the Rockliff Government has mismanaged the Apple Isle's budget and bungled key infrastructure projects, including the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium — 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 $1b stadium. Kath McCann, the Devils' general manager of marketing, corporate affairs and social impact, on Wednesday broke down in tears at a press conference. 'This club is powered by future generations,' she said after stepping away from microphones to compose herself. '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 has also released a media statement confessing the political turbulence threatened the club's survival. 'The political uncertainty that is currently unfolding in the Tasmanian Parliament is of great concern to Tasmania Football Club,' the football club said. 'Like the rest of the community, we are unsure what will happen today and what the impacts of any actions taken might be. What we do know is that uncertainty presents a serious risk for jobs, investment and growth, and for the future of Tasmania Football Club. 'Tasmania Football Club remains steadfast on building a Club for all Tasmanians. We are also steadfast on staying out of politics. We ask that our political leaders understand the implications of their actions and decisions on the future of our state for all Tasmanians, a future which we know Tasmania Football Club can play a significant part.' McCann said the optics for Tasmania pulling the pin were 'really bad'. 'What this looks like is uncertainty, what this looks like is a risk to invest, what this looks like is a state that isn't unified,' she said. 'I think we're better than that and our leaders need to think about the consequences of their actions.' Leading Tasmanian sport journalist Brent Costelloe on Tuesday night told Channel 9 it is a 'giant mess'. The ABC's Chris Rowbottom has also written on X, describing the precarious position the club finds itself in. '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. The AFL has always held a policy that 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 value 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. Leading figures in the state, including recently re-elected independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie, have criticised the AFL for its demands for a new stadium in the state capital. Lambie said in January the project 'is not viable'. 'The state government needs to go and tell the AFL where to stick it right now and tell them it's not going to play the game,' she said. She called for the government to 'tell AFL Australia that quite frankly the deal is a dud, and that's it'. Leading football reporter Sam Edmund on Wednesday told SEN: 'Jeremy Rockliff looks doomed as Tasmania premier. Doesn't have the numbers to withstand the current vote of no confidence. 'The stadium — and therefore the Devils licence - now on very thin ice. There's a world where both major parties take a pro-stadium approach to another election, but given it's so hard to get a majority down there they'll have to cut deals with independents & Greens and the first thing to negotiate will almost certainly be the stadium that most of them despise. 'That's the source of the uncertainty given stadium is yet to go to a vote.' Economist Nicholas Gruen has warned the proposed stadium leaves 'Tasmanians at risk of paying too much for too little,' generating just 44 cents of benefit for each dollar of cost. Tuesday's no-confidence bombshell came just under 15 months since Tasmania's last election. The Liberals secured 14 of the 35 lower house seats in the 2024 state vote, giving Mr Rockliff a tenuous minority government. Labor last month resisted calls from the Greens to back a no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff. But opposition leader Dean Winter dramatically changed his tune on Tuesday during his budget-reply address and now all bets are off.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff threatens early vote if no-confidence move succeeds
Just a month after the country voted at the federal election, Tasmanians could be heading back to the polls after their embattled Liberal premier threatened an early election. Tasmanian Labor tabled a no-confidence motion against Jeremy Rockliff for allegedly mismanaging the Apple Isle's budget, infrastructure projects and the proposed Macquarie Point Stadium. The Tasmanian Premier could face a no-confidence vote as early as Wednesday morning. Taking to social media, Mr Rockliff accused state Opposition Leader Dean Winter of trying to force an early election. 'It seems Dean Winter and the Labor Party are hell bent on forcing Tasmania to an early election,' he posted on Tuesday night. 'An election just over 12 months since the last one. That's the last thing Tasmania needs. That's the last thing Tasmanians want. 'Investment and business confidence would go off a cliff.' Mr Rockliff said 'nurses, doctors, firefighters and police would risk not being paid' because the budget had not been passed. 'But that's what a no-confidence vote would do: force Tasmania back to the polls,' he said. 'That's not leadership. That's an obsessive desire for power at any cost. Tasmania deserves better. 'We need to work together to build a better Tasmania.' The threat came just under 15 months since Tasmania's last election. The Liberals secured 14 of the 35 lower house seats in the 2024 state vote, giving Mr Rockliff a tenuous minority government. Labor last month resisted calls from the Greens to back a no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff. But Mr Winter dramatically changed his tune on Tuesday during his budget-reply address. 'Today, I've tabled a motion that says the House has no confidence in this premier because he's wrecked the budget, because he's planning to sell our power companies, our ports and our public transport, and because no one can trust him after the handling of the Spirit of Tasmania fiasco,' he told the House of Assembly. Mr Winter called on the crossbench to support his motion. 'If they really are opposed to the Premier's agenda of debt, deficit and debacle as they claim, then tell the House you've lost confidence in this Premier,' he said.
