Tasmanian AFL Bid - Current Bid

Current Bid

In 2008, calls for a Tasmanian franchise has received unprecedented levels of support and media coverage with the AFL's declaration that it intends to expand the competition by creating new clubs in both the Gold Coast and Western Sydney. Many Tasmanians and traditional fans of football strongly believe that the state is more deserving of an AFL team than these other areas as Tasmania has always had strong support for football, whereas Gold Coast and Western Sydney are rugby league heartlands.

In April 2008, Tasmania's former premier Paul Lennon revived the push for an AFL team by travelling to AFL House in Melbourne to officially launch the latest bid. Although Lennon subsequently retired in May, the responsibility of steering the bid went to Economic Development Minister Paula Wriedt. The Mercury newspaper has also been a vocal supporter of the bid. The current bid is known as "Tassie It's Time".

Wriedt says Tasmania is only making a case for a Tasmanian team and not trying to beat the Gold Coast or Western Sydney to the 17th or 18th franchise. It is likely that Tasmania will be added later, in the case of a Melbourne club folding or merging.

AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou has said: "They probably do deserve a team, we shouldn't dismiss the contribution that Tasmania has made to our game... They are absolutely entitled to put forward a proposal, but the commission has already decided where the 17th and 18th teams are going." . The AFL admitted that the state had put together a strong business case, but has indicated that the next two club licences will be in Gold Coast and Western Sydney.

The bid has received a significant boost on 30 July 2008, with the announcement that the confectionery company Mars has signed on as the new club's major sponsor. The deal is reportedly worth $4 million over 3 years. It was long doubted by the AFL that the Tasmanian club would secure corporate interest before a proposal is accepted by the AFL. This announcement came as a major shock as it was before a sponsor could be found for either the Gold Coast or Western Sydney clubs and as AFL clubs Richmond and Western Bulldogs were left without a major sponsor for 2009. The Western Bulldogs have since found a major sponsor in Mission Foods.

The 2008 bid has commissioned Gemba to make a financial audit of the bid to meet the AFL criteria. In addition, the Tasmania team has secured more than 20,000 potential members, ahead of the Gold Coast and Western Sydney bids in raw numbers.