AFL boss' $360 million ultimatum to new team

1 year ago 63

AFL brag Gillon McLachlan has revealed that Tasmania indispensable physique a caller stadium if it is to person a licence for a team.

McLachlan spoke successful Tasmania at a tourism and concern luncheon successful Hobart and described the Tasmanian task arsenic "unbelievably close".

The connection to Tasmania was wide successful the CEO's address.

"Without the stadium, determination is nary team. The committee and AFL clubs person made that clear. The stadium is the past cardinal requirement," helium said.

"I cognize determination are immoderate radical who accidental they enactment the squad but not the stadium, but we person been accordant with the connection that it can't enactment to person 1 without the other.

"Our fans want, deserve, and expect the champion acquisition and the champion acquisition needs the champion stadiums and the supporters are voting with their feet.

"That is wherefore determination tin beryllium nary squad without a stadium. We request to acceptable up a squad for aboriginal success, not for aboriginal failure. It is that simple.

"In the economics of caller shot clubs successful 2023, a first-class stadium is imperative for a nine trying to turnover $40-50 cardinal annually – a commercialized world for clubs to beryllium competitive."

McLachlan revealed that the AFL would put astir $360 cardinal into Tasmania to enactment shot successful the state.

Included successful that bundle volition beryllium a minimum of $15 cardinal successful the stadium, $10 cardinal successful the club's grooming facilities, $93 cardinal successful crippled development, $33 cardinal to assistance make grassroots endowment and $209 cardinal successful distributions to the caller nine implicit its archetypal decennary successful the league.

AFL brag 'losing the hunger' for Tasmania

McLachlan besides confirmed that the AFL's 2 newest clubs, the GWS Giants and Gold Coast Suns, had been told that caller oregon afloat redeveloped stadiums were a prerequisite erstwhile they entered the league implicit a decennary ago.

"We cognize alteration is controversial, and stadium developments are hard," helium said.

"We person been done this process earlier successful Adelaide, Perth, the Gold Coast, Docklands, Western Sydney implicit the past 10 years.

"All these projects were opposed and present each are wholly embraced and celebrated by their communities.

"For an AFL squad to beryllium palmy and to thrive alternatively than survive, it needs a location that allows it to beryllium successful.

"A location that enables and empowers it to vie from the start, connected and disconnected the field."

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