If the AFL were to expand, where should the first new team be based?

[Rob]

Hobart, the foundation is already there. Footy doesn't have to be developed down there, they have two quality grounds - York Park and Bellerive (Not sure whether Bellerive is suitable for footy though) and have the support, evidenced by the attendances at the AFL matches played at YP. It wouldn't take as long to take off, as it has in non-AFL cities such as Brisbane and Sydney.

Quality grounds? You've really exaggerated the definition of 'quality' there. Neither holds over 20,000. And I think someone mentioned a few months ago that York Park has the grand total of 3 corporate boxes.

Unless they charge $100 a ticket a game, I'd be surprised if Tassie could fund an AFL team without a lot of infrastructure development.

 

[Rob]

You cant use one-off big crowds and argue that level of support would happen every 2nd weekend.

It does happen 4 times a year. 5 if you count the pre-season. But in any case, crowds aren't the problem, it's corporate support.

 

[ROK of Gibraltar]

Canberra, Canberra, Canberra.
Plenty of ex-Vics (some now following Rugby). Fairly strong local comp, fair sized junior league in place. Plenty of space to build a new 'stadium' if Manuka could not be expanded - and plenty of pollies to jump on the bandwagon. And plenty of 3-4-5 year residents. Get em hooked and send out to spread the word. A second Sydney side - just call them the Adelaide Rams or the Western Reds...

 

[bakerman]

I voted for Tassie. They would have to expand Bellerive by a 5-10 thousand seats.
1 other option is in Cairns. There is a ground ready to use and believe it or not, Cairns is an AFL town. The only problem would be getting to numbers week in week out.

 

[Mr Crow!]

Why do you say that Cairns is already an AFL town?

 

[littleduck]

Why do you say that Cairns is already an AFL town?

It makes them feel good to think people care in FNQ.

 

[Megan]

Hate to tell you Rob but York Park holds 20 000 already, before they started renovating and it holds more now... (arguably more but more all the same)

Would top out to something silly like 22 000 though I think.

They're amending the corporate box thing, and as far as quality grounds go, the turf is better barring NONE than the rest of the AFL paddocks.

Of course if we had 11 home games on there, that mightn't be the case, but it does hold up remarkably well even in the wet after 2, 3 games straight.

 

[GoSydneySwans]

More money, that's all Tassie really needs. We definitely have enough AFL supporters here.

 

[The Fireman]

Sorry Mr Crow , you didn't include northern (York Park) Tas in your poll so it has lost a lot of credibilty, if and when AFL links with Tassy it will be at York Park, personally I would have liked it at Hobart but I realise that is not viable.
change your poll Mr Crow.

 

[Mr Crow!]

Was is there SOOO much political infighting in the state of Tasmania when it comes to football? Why is there so much us vs. them?

NO other state in Australia has numerous major football leagues. Ie: Victoria had the VFL, Western Australia had the WAFL, South Australia had the SANFL, why then did / does Tasmania have 2 leagues? Distance can't be a problem, because geographically the state is not that big.

Other posters in this thread, ie: Megan, mentions the political problems in regards to football in Tasmania... why is this historically so?

 

[Rob]

Hate to tell you Rob but York Park holds 20 000 already, before they started renovating and it holds more now... (arguably more but more all the same)

Would top out to something silly like 22 000 though I think.

Which, lets be honest here, is vastly inferior to any other ground in the league.

They're amending the corporate box thing, and as far as quality grounds go, the turf is better barring NONE than the rest of the AFL paddocks.

Of course if we had 11 home games on there, that mightn't be the case, but it does hold up remarkably well even in the wet after 2, 3 games straight.

Certainly not questioning the standard of the surface. But a good surface on a home ground is not something to which an AFL team can be based on.

Ask yourself why would the AFL put a team in Tassie anyway? It's already the number 1 game in town, it rates its arse off on TV, what would the AFL have to gain? They have plenty to lose, financially anyway.

I'm not questioning the passion of Tassie people, just that there aren't enough of them, and their pockets aren't deep enough.

 

[zero]

as iv said tassie just doesnt have the corporate dollar to support a team, otherwise they would have one already. the gold coast is about the only viable option at the moment.

 

[themolloyboy]

I have no doubt that it should be a tasmanian team, the state government could bank roll it as i am sure it would do no harm to the states economy and it would be cheaper than paying Richard Butler to be governor for more than six months. I think the team should be based in launceston but should play at least 4 games in hobart a year. The current VFL team has been financially successful and moderately succesful on field, once Tasmania begins to dominate the VFL then there will be a major push for an AFL side.

 

[PoRtBoYzEz]

I have no doubt that it should be a tasmanian team, the state government could bank roll it as i am sure it would do no harm to the states economy and it would be cheaper than paying Richard Butler to be governor for more than six months. I think the team should be based in launceston but should play at least 4 games in hobart a year. The current VFL team has been financially successful and moderately succesful on field, once Tasmania begins to dominate the VFL then there will be a major push for an AFL side.

Well then maybe we should wait until the time that they are dominating the the VFL befoe being considered for the AFL. Same goes for Darwin and its proposed entry into the SANFL. I don't believe that the AFL will have much to gain by expanding to these two locations. Both are already Aussie rules dominated and neither has the population or corporate/financial support to support a team. If the AFL wants to expand it has to do so with an eye to the future. If this is the case SE qld, Nth qld and NZ would be prime targets with there growing populations.

Just a thought but how about a Nth Qld team playing home games at multiple venues (Cairns and Townsville and maybe sunshine coast) or a Nz team playing homegames out of Auckland with other games in Wellington and on the south island maybe at christchurch to get the whole country involved? As already mentioned the game has good base level support in NZ and companies that would love the opportunity to gain exposure on Australian national tv so i can't see sponsorship being a problem.

 

[Hit And Rum]

I keep hearing that there is no money in Canberra but I just don't accept it. Why can't the state government just bank roll them like Richmond when they were sponsored by the TAC, Collingwood "Wipe off 5" or Essendon's "Speed Kills" or the TAB down there or Tas tourism.

If not approach the brewers...Cascade, James Boags probably through Lion Nathan or CUB.

I just can't accept that they couldn't get the $$. IT would be the biggest corporate show in town in Tas!

I'll say it again...

 

[dclnmurray]

Gold Coast all the way.

We were down there this weekend and the place is booming. There are so many housing estates going up everywhere and with a lot of folks moving up from Interstate then shove a second QLD team in down there. The place must be in excess of 600,000 people now which is more than respectable to have a local AFL team.

cheers

Dave

 

[Goat]

>Why do you say that Cairns is already an AFL town?

It makes them feel good to think people care in FNQ.

Why do you say Cairns is not an AFL town? As far as I know (which isn't much when it comes to FNQ) is that its into the Rugbies and Australian football.

 

[Big Ted]

Canberra!

Pfffffffffffffttttt

 

[fabulousphil]

>Why do you say that Cairns is already an AFL town?



Why do you say Cairns is not an AFL town? As far as I know (which isn't much when it comes to FNQ) is that its into the Rugbies and Australian football.

Far as i knew Cairns was a bit of a Wagga like town in that both codes are reasonably strong, unlike Townsville which is primarily a RL town.

I believe that the Cairns AFL sponsors the Lions a substantial amount of money yearly from its club operations in Cairns which is one of the biggest clubs in QLD. They also sponsor the PNG operations from Cairns in terms of training umpires, auskick, development teams etc etc etc.

Afew AFL players have come from Cairns in recent years.... Cockatoo- Collins brothers spring to mind.

 

[joshhem]

sunshine coast

YES!!!!!!!

You would be suprised how many people travel from up there to get to the lions games. I think this is a great idea, why is it never mentioned?

 

[amazonstud]

I think you may find that the AFL will encourage a Melbourne based team to relocate to QLD. The team will play their home matches at the Gabba and share the Brisbane and Gold Coast facilities and social club of the Southport Sharks. The QLD Government and the Gabba Trust are looking for a second tenant for the Gabba and to recoup the money they have spent there on re-development. The ground is used 11 times a season for AFL football and it is practically sold out for every match and for a test match and 3 one dayers during summer. The rest of the time the ground does not go close to crowds of approx 10,000 for cricket.

The Lions are looking to reduce the amount of rent they pay on the ground and a 2nd football club would be encouraged by the Trust the State Government and the Lions. It would have Free To Air coverage every 2nd week and access to a growing AFL support base in Brisbane. The Southport Sharks IIRC have been preparing for entry into the AFL for quite some time and reportedly have $16m in the bank and have a very good ground and social club facilities with pokies on the Gold Coast. The feeling in AFLQ is that although the Gold Coast has a lot of people on weekends who commute from Brisbane and a lot of holidayers that this is a transient crowd and they go there for the beach, fun parks and water activities and not to watch a game of football. The Sharks have also recently purchased a football club and it's licensed premises and pokies on the northern side of Brisbane. This would give any team who relocated from Melbourne a Brisbane based location relatively close to the Gabba as well as a Gold Coast base. The Southport ground is AFL size and the player facilities are first class.

The QLD State Government has just assisted with the rebuilding of the rugby union/league stadium in Brisbane and IMO is unlikely to spend any money on a rugby stadium on the Gold Coast.

 

[fabulousphil]

I think you may find that the AFL will encourage a Melbourne based team to relocate to QLD. The team will play their home matches at the Gabba and share the Brisbane and Gold Coast facilities and social club of the Southport Sharks. The QLD Government and the Gabba Trust are looking for a second tenant for the Gabba and to recoup the money they have spent there on re-development. The ground is used 11 times a season for AFL football and it is practically sold out for every match and for a test match and 3 one dayers during summer. The rest of the time the ground does not go close to crowds of approx 10,000 for cricket.

The Lions are looking to reduce the amount of rent they pay on the ground and a 2nd football club would be encouraged by the Trust the State Government and the Lions. It would have Free To Air coverage every 2nd week and access to a growing AFL support base in Brisbane. The Southport Sharks IIRC have been preparing for entry into the AFL for quite some time and reportedly have $16m in the bank and have a very good ground and social club facilities with pokies on the Gold Coast. The feeling in AFLQ is that although the Gold Coast has a lot of people on weekends who commute from Brisbane and a lot of holidayers that this is a transient crowd and they go there for the beach, fun parks and water activities and not to watch a game of football. The Sharks have also recently purchased a football club and it's licensed premises and pokies on the northern side of Brisbane. This would give any team who relocated from Melbourne a Brisbane based location relatively close to the Gabba as well as a Gold Coast base. The Southport ground is AFL size and the player facilities are first class.

The QLD State Government has just assisted with the rebuilding of the rugby union/league stadium in Brisbane and IMO is unlikely to spend any money on a rugby stadium on the Gold Coast.

Good post, i guess the million dollar question is will people travel from the Gold coast to the Gabba if the team was getting a hiding and is their enough support from Brisbane people to warrant another team.

Can a side playing out of the Gabba "owned" by Southport garner support from outside the Gold coast and get local Brisbane support, is their people in Brisbane who want another AFL team and dont like the Lions which will build up a good Derby and cross town rivalry..............WC V Freo, Ade V PT Ade.

 

[GoSydneySwans]

Well then maybe we should wait until the time that they are dominating the the VFL befoe being considered for the AFL. Same goes for Darwin and its proposed entry into the SANFL. I don't believe that the AFL will have much to gain by expanding to these two locations. Both are already Aussie rules dominated and neither has the population or corporate/financial support to support a team. If the AFL wants to expand it has to do so with an eye to the future. If this is the case SE qld, Nth qld and NZ would be prime targets with there growing populations.

We don't dominate the VFL because a lot of the Tasmanian players have aspirations to play in the AFL, which they do for interstate clubs. I am certain a lot of Tasmanian AFL players would want to play for a Tassie side if it were an option.

 

[amazonstud]

The Lions pre-sell all bar 5,000 tickets to the Gabba for all games to their members and like Port and the Crows etc. have the money in the bank at the start of the season even if the members don't turn up for matches later during the year. The 5,000 tickets are left for visiting teams and people who turn up on the day. The capacity of the ground is IIRC about 35,000 and will go up to 40,000 seating when the Lions social club stand is re-developed. However there is appears to be a sticking point on it's re-development and a 2nd club using the ground for 11 matches may help over come sokme of the problems. In the meantime you have a very good stadium with lights facilities and corporate boxes in the fastest growing state in the country.

There are AFL supporters in Brisbane who will go along each week no matter which team is playing and some Gold Coast supporters will drive up (approx 1 hour trip) and others who don't want to follow the Lions may also come on board. There is also the opportunity with growing coverage of the Lions in the media and a subsequent knowledge of AFL in Qld to expand that base with another local team more TV exposure and further building of the total supporter base for AFL. It will be interesting to see how the Hawks experiment goes and whether or not that is the launching base for a team to consider the move.

 

[Broken]

How about a team in a victorian suburb of Fitzroy. They're located close to Collingwood, so you've got an immediate rivalry and give them a jumper similar to Brisbanes to get the bandwagon jumpers on board

Seriously though, the AFL have been pushing for a 2nd team in Sydney for a while, so my guess would be that it comes from there and maybe Canberra or Tassie for an 18th team based on crowd numbers.