I'm not sure it has to be a case of Geelong or Tassie. 

It may even be viable for a Hobart team, a Geelong team and a current pre-existing South Melb team all having plausible cases to be in the HAL.

Tassie away would be sick. $200 return flight at most.

Bring it on!!

Meh - I'd prefer to travel to Tassie than Geelong.

Even when we play games in Geelong at the moment, I spend my day at Torquay or Anglesea before the game, not Geelong.

Don't think Geelong would be a rivalry anymore than CCM or NUJ is for the Sydney Teams. 

Closer to $70 return, if you book at the right time. Very keen.

Yeah, both would be great. Just saying that Tassie is a much more attractive travel destination than Geelong.

Still go to every game we have down the road.

The FFA have already stated their preference to expand into big cities. The chances of regional teams being added are still somewhat slim, not to mention 2 regional teams in close proximity to one another (comparatively speaking in Aussie geographical terms) . Extremely low probability in the next 10 years.  Geelong has a small population and so would be far behind other regions like Canberra.

Now Tassie HAL bid stakeholders are meeting with stadium decision - makers to canvass the possibility of using Bellerive Oval as a Tassie HAL venue.

I'd love it!

I live only five minutes walk away from the ground!

The surface is like a carpet. I'm not sure if it would be like Adelaide Oval though - too  hard on the feet.

FFA said ; "Any new entrant into the A-League will likely have to prove a strong connection to a grass-roots player pool, the ability to promote a sense of passion and tribalism within its region as well as attract TV audiences."

The SMH said; "It's for this reason Brisbane, Southern Sydney and Geelong are considered the frontrunners for inclusion in the next stage of A-League expansion. But that could change once the process is opened to bids with specific criteria. It's understood bids from Western Australia and South Australia will also be put forward to the FFA next year."






These are some of the criteria FFA are demanding from HAL applicants.


*In terms of player pool, few in the current Tassie NPL would be good enough to make the step up to HAL football. Many Tassie youth players are as good as the youth from other HAL feeder regions. To date few have not been able to secure HAL contracts because they need to be better than locals from existing HAL club regions to secure contracts. 


Whilst discussing this criterion, in cricket the local underpinning 1st grade comp has improved with the influx of fringe players moving to Tassie to advance their Shield prospects. I'd suggest an influx of NPL Victorian and NSW top players would relocate  to play  in the Tassie NPL comp. Also, young aspirants would see what is  needed to make senior pro by having contact with existing senior pros.


This has occurred in cricket. The criterion for appraising youth players is comparing them to current senior state players. This should transfer to football.

Cricket coaching has also improved out of sight in the Tassie grade scene. This has already occurred in football, but there is still room for improvement.







*Passion and tribalism is a given in Tasmania, because of its isolation.



*I'm not sure about TV audiences.

How would Bellerive Oval work as a venue Decentric when it's the home of cricket for the same period we have our season?

I know the original Tasmania United bid spoke of putting the pitch up the end where the large grandstand and laying it across that way but that leaves a whole wing on the oval vacant!

A good question.

The pitch would work, as I've seen this occur at North Hobart about 50 years ago, but it would surely encroach on the cricket wicket.

 The Tassie cricket wicket is not a drop in pitch, but many others are in Australia. 

In its favour the Tas Cricket Association has been well run.  I think  the TCA would like the idea of football being played at the venue. There is a lot of sharing with AFL with memberships, although they operate in different seasons. Most cricket administrators and stakeholders  are enlightened as to how big football is overseas, unlike AFL stakeholders who see it as a threat.

It's a pity South Hobart never got a home game to try out their deal with Bellrieve in the FFA Cup. Hopefully some day soon they'll draw an A-League team there, it'll be a good experiment.

I had a much more angry and sweary response to the article on reddit, but I'll edit it a bit to keep it clean
I think this is a puzzling and somewhat poor decision from the FFA. Hobart satisfies pretty much all the criteria, yet the FFA are sticking to the AFL's one-eyed narrative of ignoring the rest of the the country outside areas already established. 

Why add a THIRD Sydney team, which will further split the fan base of the two existing clubs, who don't have amazing crowds anyway,  Geelong with less population than Hobart, or Brisbane who can barely pull a good crowd with one team. This was a chance, along with Canberra, to make football the first truly national game. 

This is an extremely disappointing decision, yet reinforces how little the FFA care about anywhere that's not Sydney-Brisbane-Melbourne

Hopefully they reconsider, and the Tassie club backers persist and keep trying for it. Don't give up yet boys 

http://www.foxsports.com.au/football/a-league/aleague-expansion-plans-ffa-confirm-framework-will-be-set-for-bidding-expansion-franchises/news-story/3fd884f143a50e646bcd0b1b87d8cbc2

However, FFA holds concerns over whether Tasmania is appealing enough to broadcasters and if their proposed home ground, North Hobart Oval, is adequate. Both Tasmania and South Melbourne say they are ready to enter the competition next season, but it’s believed expansion is unlikely to begin until season 2018-19 at the earliest.

FFA chief executive David Gallop has repeatedly used the phrase “fish where the fish are” regarding expansion, suggesting teams in capital cities like Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will be favoured

Tasmanian government has guaranteed about 7 to 11 million dollars per year just for the new proposed AFL teams running costs how are we going

Lowy and Gallop said no.

even with government giving $11m, they'd have to raise triple that per annum just to stay afloat

https://www.goal.com/en-au/news/fc-tasmania-planning-new-stadium/3om9ex0k05pj1bmykvojmtt0q

In framing a market;
Western Utd Stadium 450/1;
Tasmania rectangle stadium  500/1;
Melbourne Victory sporting centre of excellence 750/1;

That's the Western United Shovel Ready Stadium to you, thanks. 

Leave them alone, its hard to get construction crews on site to start building, 75% of the workforce is forced to be at home, its not as if anyone wants any more construction sites at the moment........

If they don’t announce a Tassie team by the middle of 2022, I reckon the horse has bolted.  The Tassie AFL team is coming in 6-7 years. And once they officially announce it, all of the government resources will be diverted towards that. If they want any government funding for their rectangular stadium, the time is now.


There is supposed to be an announcement from MVFC from this before the start of the new season. So I'm taking those odds. 

Bundoora LaTrobe you reackon?

Unfortunately that article is over four years old.

no. the Matildas are moving in there. 

Oh, I thought the Matildas where tacking on to the site of the new sports centre and building a new base there. The "old" CFG site I thought would still be available.

Fair enough, any idea where Victory would be looking at?

The State Government has set aside funds to establish a Tasmanian Stadiums Trust which would cover York Park, Bellerive Oval and potentially other sites such as the DEC (basketball).

Apparently part of their purpose will be to undertake a feasibility study for a rectangular stadium and narrow down the most likely potential locations to a preferred site.

I figure the AFL team outcome in March 2022 will be a pivotal outcome for a rectangular stadium decision in 2022/23 particularly if a possible AFL license requires significant stadium investment. If so there won’t be many $$$ left for other stadiums and it may need to be mostly private funding.

won't be many $$$'s left- I can guarantee you 100 % that'll be the case