Swans reality check as $1.2m free agent race to explode; Merrett trade saga re-ignites<\/a><\/p>\nThe Hawks said the AFL\u2019s call to end the partnership will have a \u201cmaterial impact\u201d both \u201con and off the field\u201d and believed it could have hosted games in Launceston even with the introduction of the Devils from 2028.<\/p>\n
\u201cOver the past 25 years, Hawthorn has made a significant contribution to the strong foundations of AFL football in Tasmania, with an undeniable benefit to the Launceston and Tasmanian economy, strong attendance at AFL games and a loyal following of Tasmanian members,\u201d the club statement reads.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are extremely grateful to our Tasmanian members and the business community of Northern Tasmania, who have been incredible over the last 25 years, and have actively voiced its support to keep Hawthorn in Tasmania.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hawks fans celebrate a goal from Finn Maginness during the Rd 7 triumph over the Gold Coast Suns at University of Tasmania Stadium in Launceston. (Photo by Steve Bell\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
While the Hawks have received a windfall for playing matches in Launceston, there is evidence that the club\u2019s commitment to the city is valued in the state\u2019s north, particularly by businesses in the region.<\/p>\n
When the prospect of the partnership ending was raised, the Launceston Chamber of Commerce issued concerns when stating the Hawks deal contributed an estimated $20 million to the region each winter.<\/p>\n
The organisation\u2019s CEO Alina Bain said that scant detail had been offered by the AFL regarding whether the Devils would be able to contribute a similar economic value to the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne in 10 tourism dollars come from the Hawks fixtures,\u201d Alina Bain, the CEO of the body, told the ABC last month. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the promotion of Tasmania interstate. It\u2019s the high-spending interstate visitors that come … to see the Hawks games and come into the north of the state and travel around. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s that economic data that we\u2019re looking for in terms of this, what I will call a transition to the Devils – and we\u2019re right behind the Devils. It\u2019s exciting for Tasmania. It\u2019s great. We\u2019re behind it – but our businesses need certainty. They need to know what the economic data looks like, what the patterns of spending are going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
North Melbourne previously played matches in Hobart but, after that partnership ended, it has sold matches to Western Australian clubs and will play the Eagles for the second time this season in Perth midway through June.<\/p>\n
But Hawthorn said it will \u201caim to return these games to Melbourne\u201d rather than trying to secure a one-off payment elsewhere.<\/p>\n
The AFL decision comes amid contention regarding the building of a new stadium in Hobart at Macquarie Point, which reports the price tag for the stadium has blown out from $715 million when pitched to about $1.13 billion now.<\/p>\n
The stadium, which was a condition of the Devils securing AFL entry, is not likely to be operational for footy until 2031.<\/p>\n
The Tasmania Devils have already drawn a strong following, with cheer squad members Nat Lockwood and Katherine Mitchell pictured at the club\u2019s debut VFLW match. Picture: Bridget ClarkeSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The AFL has booted the Hawks from Tasmania to give the incoming Devils a clean slate to grow,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":679891,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[2655,9126,638,64,63,689,55,639,327677,242194,327670,5179,50313,12411,3567,107644,327679,38334,2105,2485,9130,42251,327671,7492,12804,327673,12152,327672,142019,84673,647,327674,3530,677,327678,46,6264,701,12936,327676,85,60133,327669,2801,12410,327675,660,3439],"class_list":["post-679890","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-abc","tag-adelaide-crows","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-business-community","tag-business-operators","tag-cheer-squad-members","tag-chief-operating-officer","tag-clean-space","tag-club-statement","tag-courtney-walsh","tag-economic-data","tag-economic-data-looks","tag-fan-base","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-gold-coast","tag-gold-coast-suns","tag-hawks-coach","tag-hawks-fans","tag-hawthorn-hawks","tag-hobart","tag-investment-work","tag-launceston","tag-launceston-chamber-of-commerce","tag-loyal-fan-base","tag-material-impact","tag-melbourne","tag-nat-lockwood","tag-nick-watson","tag-oceania","tag-partnership-ending","tag-perth","tag-price-tag","tag-queensland","tag-sam-mitchell","tag-spending-interstate-visitors","tag-sports","tag-steve-bell","tag-storm-brews","tag-tasmania","tag-tom-harley","tag-tourism-dollars","tag-victoria","tag-western-australia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679890","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=679890"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/679890\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/679891"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=679890"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=679890"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=679890"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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