No stadium, no team.
That’s the blanket manifesto the ‘Yes Stadium’ crowd have clung to since the Tasmanian AFL teams were announced.
They wear it as a badge of honour, smugly protesting that the proposed Macquarie Point stadium is the only way forward.
Except it’s not.
Globally renowned economist Dr Nicholas Gruen recently paved the way for an alternative option. An option that would allow Tasmania to have its AFL teams without the catastrophic cost of the proposed stadium. And an option that wouldn’t see the AFL shelling out cash to keep the Tassie teams afloat.
The Breakdown
In a submission to the Tasmanian Planning Commission, the Tasmanian Devils themselves said the Macquarie Point stadium is worth about $5 or $6 million a year to them through sponsorship, match receipts and corporate hospitality.
The crux of the AFL’s argument for the proposed stadium has always been that the Tassie Devils must be financially viable on their own. That’s why the stadium is a necessity. The more money they have to hand out to the Devils, the less money all the other teams get to share. It’s why the AFL Presidents are so hell bent on Macquarie Point. And why they’re mortified at the spiralling costs of the proposed stadium.
The Solution
Dr Gruen’s point is simple; if the proposed Macquarie Point stadium is worth $5 or $6 million per year to the Devils, then the Tasmanian Government could simply pay that. It would cost Tasmanian taxpayers 1/10th of the current stadium price.
Let that sink in. 1/10th of the proposed Macquarie Point stadium.
The idea of an AFL team fully subsidised by the Tasmanian taxpayer isn’t attractive. No other AFL Team has state sponsorship. And you don’t see the JackJumpers putting their hand out for cash at every minor inconvenience.
But the difference in cost between a government-subsidised team and the proposed stadium is staggering.
Dr Gruen himself said it best when interviewed by Leon Gettler: “… but it’s a lot of money [the stadium] when it’s not necessary.”
“It’s a lot of money to agree to the standover tactics of the AFL.”
If the Tasmanian Government subsidised the Tassie Devils teams, it would take the wind out of the AFL Presidents. They’re stubbornly clinging to the proposed stadium, but their argument is deflated if there’s a financial guarantee the Tassie teams can pay their own way.
But most importantly, it would allow Tasmania the right to its own team, without forcing taxpayers to pay through the nose for a stadium we don’t need, cannot afford, and which will smash Hobart’s heritage and suffocate our economy.
Dr Gruen says it’s time to abandon the stadium.