AFL boss delivers fresh blow to Tassie team hopes

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan has revealed that any bid for a standalone Tasmanian team in the league will be unsuccessful without a new stadium.

Speaking after a meeting with Tasmanian premier Jeremy Rockliff in the Apple Isle, McLachlan was adamant that the potential Tassie team would have to have the modern facilities to rival that on the mainland before they would be considered.

“If you look around this country … and you look at the cities where AFL and other sports (are) being played, you need a stadium that can compete in 2022, or 2025, 2026,” McLachlan said.

“Whether it’s contingent or however you want to frame it … this team needs and will have a new stadium if it wants a licence.

“And I think Tasmanians will expect that.”

Debate around a potential Tasmanian team is set to heat up over the coming months, with all 18 AFL club presidents set to vote on a potential new license in August.

McLachlan earlier confirmed that the league was not interested in relocating a current team, instead revealing that the state was unlikely to see their own club for at least a decade.

“I love Tasmania, I really do. But the biggest challenge in Tasmania is a couple of things - it’s not big enough in absolute terms and it’s not growing,” McLachlan said earlier in the month.

“And so it has a challenge supporting an AFL team in it’s own right ... and that’s exacerbated by the fact that the state is split in two. The north hate the south and the south hate the north. So it actually can’t quite support a team.

“Tasmanians are obsessed with football. They should have a team .... but it’s a problem and I can’t see them having their own team for least a decade, which is about as far out as I can look.”

Tasmania's new premier has already confirmed plans for a new stadium in the state, with the state government announcing plans in March for a new $750 million arena in Hobart.