A report investigating the viability of an AFL team in Tasmania has found a relocated team or a joint venture between Tasmania and Victoria would be the strongest outcome.
The report, by former AFL commissioner and Geelong president Colin Carter, was delivered to the AFL commission earlier this month, and to Tasmania’s government on Thursday afternoon.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said the review showed Tasmania needed greater AFL representation.
The review provided three recommendations, with Tasmania holding an exclusive licence among them.
The two most likely recommendations, however, were the relocation of an existing Melbourne club to Tasmania or a joint venture between Tasmania and a Melbourne based-club.
“The case can be made for 19th licence,” McLachlan said.
“But relocating an existing team — if a club is prepared to take that path — or a joint venture between Tasmania stakeholders and a Victoria team that secures strong support in two markets from the outset would arguably produce a more sustainable outcome and therefore should be considered before a 19th licence.”
McLachlan would not provide a timeline for the implementation of the review’s findings.
Carter was tasked with assessing the state government’s business case for the AFL to hand a 19th AFL licence to a Tasmanian side.
The AFL taskforce report, released last February, urged the government to pursue a provisional licence, and to enter the league by 2025.
It said the “absence of a local team” was behind the declining popularity of the code in the state and said AFL could cede being Tasmania’s favourite sporting code by 2030.
The report found the state would reap a windfall of more than $110 million a year and more than 360 jobs from having a team.
It said the initial set-up would cost the AFL, and federal and state governments a combined $45 million, with the state government to pay a maximum of $11 million each year to underwrite the club.
Carter met with a range of stakeholders during a three-day visit to the state in May, accompanied by Tasmanian-born former St Kilda captain and taskforce member Nick Riewoldt.
A decision on the entry of a Tasmanian team will not be made until later this year, with 14 of the 18 club presidents needing to sign off on expansion plans for them to go ahead.
Premier Peter Gutwein has put negotiations with Hawthorn and North Melbourne to continue to play games in the state on hold, while he waited to see the contents of the report.
Both deals, which see the clubs play four games each a season in the state, expire at the end of the year.
Source: AFL NEWS ABC
