THE NEED for a new stadium looks to be the final major sticking point as AFL clubs consider the case to approve the entry of a 19th club in Tasmania.
The AFL Commission and the 18 existing clubs were presented with the latest business case for a Tasmanian AFL club on Monday.
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan said existing clubs aired concerns about the funding for a new stadium, the list build for a 19th licence, and any Total Player Payment concessions in a "positive" 90-minute discussion.
TASMANIAN LICENCE Statement from AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan
McLachlan said the AFL aimed to receive feedback from the clubs in two or three weeks, saying there was "financial, economic and emotional support" for a Tasmanian club to enter both the AFL and AFLW competitions.
The AFL Commission will not make a decision until clubs provide their thoughts.
"We believe that we have resolved and finalised 10 of the 11 workstreams and the final piece is resolving the stadium," McLachlan said.
"While those discussions are ongoing with the Tasmanian Government we are confident that we can continue to resolve that issue to the satisfaction of all parties.
"We and the Tasmanian Government agree that a new stadium is important to the success of a new club and the Tasmanian economy – and we agree that we will solve that together at the right time.
"The Federal Government has made no commitment at this stage, and we haven't asked them to make a commitment."
McLachlan confirmed the site for a prospective stadium is Macquarie Point in Hobart.
"We haven't spoken to the Federal Government, the stadium is an important part of footy down there if Tasmania is to get a licence, and the Tasmanian Government made a strong commitment to that," he said.
"We want the industry to own this together, and that's what we're committed to. This is something the clubs have a say in, that's how this process works, and I've said from the outset we are going to go forward with our industry supporting this, and if we don't, we want. If one or two disagree, we're not going to get that point. We're going forward with it together, or we won't.
"It was a good chat, it was long. These aren't easy decisions, they're decisions that change the shape of football. So I think the questions were great, they asked for more information. People are understanding the weight of it. I think it was a good presentation and they've got a heap of information to work through with their boards."
Clubs raised several issues with the AFL across its discussion around Tasmania, which McLachlan said had been earmarked for possible entry in 2027, dependent on the stadium.
"There's bits and pieces differing with the clubs, depending on what's important to them. Questions around list builds, fixturing, an AFLW team, where's the facilities, so there were lots of questions," he said.
"We've got a resolution for many of the issues, in fact all 11, maybe not a resolution or a full picture on the stadium. But we had enough that this is the first time clubs are saying 'this is the vision' and it was the appropriate chat.
"I think we're close because we put a position to the presidents with some pretty definitive stuff in there. We had funding arrangements, we had TnA (talent and acquisition) solutions, we had a vision for a stadium, we had economics, we had detail around the 11 workstreams, and club boards are now considering that.
"That's a significant step forward for Tasmanians, it's encouraging."
