{"id":330649,"date":"2025-12-06T02:38:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T02:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/330649\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T02:38:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T02:38:12","slug":"fair-assumption-tasmania-faces-stadium-delay-as-alternate-venues-revealed-afl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/330649\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cFair assumption\u201d: Tasmania faces stadium delay as alternate venues revealed – AFL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

All systems are go for Tasmania’s entry into the AFL<\/a> following the official approval of construction of the Macquarie Point stadium on Thursday, but the completion timeline remains uncertain.<\/p>\n

The project was tipped to be completed by 2029, the Devils’ second season in the top flight; however, CEO Brendon Gale wasn’t as confident, saying that venues in Hobart and Launceston will likely be used for the opening two seasons.<\/p>\n

“There is probably an assumption internally that we’ll be playing games in Hobart and Launceston for two years,” Gale said on Friday, according to\u00a0AFL Media.<\/p>\n

“That is probably a fair assumption at this stage.”<\/p>\n

\"BrendonBrendon Gale, Tasmania CEO. Credit: The Examiner<\/p>\n

Gale said the extension to the timeline has yet to be discussed, with the club focusing on the major milestone of ticking off the project.<\/p>\n

“Not really. We’ve stayed in the moment and gotten through this milestone \u2014 and now we can move forward,” he said.
AFL<\/a> boss Andrew Dillon also commented on the likely completion of the build, saying the project can move forward.
“That’s something that we’ll be working through now (stadium completion),” he said.<\/p>\n

“But now that we have this certainty, we can now go out to the builders, get a contract signed, and start building.”<\/p>\n

With significant markers being ticked off as the days roll by, the search for a senior coach hasn’t hit cabin fever yet.<\/p>\n

\"NathanNathan Buckley. Credit Geelong Football Club<\/p>\n

Nathan Buckley<\/a> is slated to be the inaugural coach of the Devils, but Gale said the appointment of a head coach isn’t “as urgent” as other positions.<\/p>\n

Buckley has returned to the coaching fold for the 2026 season, joining Geelong as an assistant before a likely push for the Tasmania job.<\/p>\n

“Those considerations will become more important now,” Gale said.<\/p>\n

“A senior coach probably isn’t as urgent given the timeline, but key football department leadership is. Those discussions will continue.<\/p>\n

“What I will say is that I’ve been amazed at the excitement, that key football people involved in this entire AFL<\/a> community, who see the excitement, who see the opportunity to work with a blank canvas, albeit in a state that has a 160 years of history and passion in football.<\/p>\n

“Now we can get on the front foot and progress with our discussions.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All systems are go for Tasmania’s entry into the AFL following the official approval of construction of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":330650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-330649","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=330649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/330649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/330650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=330649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=330649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=330649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}