http://www.goal.com/en-au/news/4021/a-league/2017/01/19/31703532/fc-tasmania-planning-new-stadium

Cheers fellas

It's good to read that they're chasing a football specific stadium in Hobart and trying to push it with the government.

I hope it's a case of FFA telling the bid this is what we need to do and the government asking the bid what do we need to do. There was a previous article prior to Christmas about the premier meeting with FFA I think.

I hope the 3 parties can work together to get this up and about.

But I haven't got my hopes up.

FFA should not underestimate strength of Tassie’s A-League bid, says former Melbourne Victory director Robert Belteky

ONE of the key figures behind the Tasmanian A-League bid says the consortium remains confident of convincing the Football Federation of Australia to grant them an expansion licence to enter the national competition.

Robert Belteky, a former Melbourne Victory director, flew into Hobart earlier today.

He met Premier Will Hodgman and held a media conference, saying Tasmania deserved to have a team in the A-League.

He also said the consortium was “very confident” about satisfying the FFA’s expansion criteria when it was released — understood to be as early as next month.

“I think Tasmania provides all the attributes that are necessary to have a successful A-League club, not just successful in its own right commercially and from a supporter and support perspective, but also enhancing the A-League and providing benefits to the A-League in general,” said Mr Belteky, who has had business interests in the island state for the past 20 years.

“People who don’t spend time in Tasmania underestimate it at their peril.

“And someone said to me once we should be saying to FFA ‘leave Tasmania out of the A-League at your peril’.

“You don’t have to research much to find clear examples.

People who don’t spend time in Tasmania underestimate it at their peril.

“The crowds you are getting to Big Bash games are not far below mainland capital cities.

“The two AFL teams that are playing, they are not your teams they are mainland teams but the support they are getting in Hobart and in Launceston is the equivalent of what they are getting in Melbourne and other mainland cities.

“The state is crying out to have exposure and involvement in a national competition — and if the A-League hopefully is the first competition to do so, then the state will show that it has to and deserves to be there.”

While the club has a working title of “FC Tasmania” at this stage, the consortium is open to changes.

The team is slated to initially play out of either Blundstone Arena or North Hobart Oval.

Mr Belteky said they were looking at options around building a rectangular stadium on a greenfields site in the state.

“The preferred option is a rectangular stadium, that’s a given,” he said.

“But it’s not an easy thing to achieve.

“We have options in front of us, North Hobart is one and Bellerive is one, but they are not rectangular, they can be reconfigured to a degree but they are not rectangular.

“So a rectangular stadium is clearly on the agenda. Do we have options? No, but we are clearly looking at those.”

http://www.themercury.com.au/sport/local-sport/ffa-should-not-underestimate-strength-of-tassies-aleague-bid-says-former-melbourne-victory-director-robert-belteky/news-story/849ca881be9786cf97d7dc010cb34b55

Pass

Not much news but all of it good, glad to see they're pushing for the correct shaped infrastructure, and the name FC Tasmania is fine, I was worried it'd be some AFL shit like Tassie Chill.

Maybe WP can merge with the Tas bid. So it's a trans Tasman thing. We can call them Tasman Trannies FC

NRMAWSWFC

LGBQTYTTFC

Broad based, inclusive etc

I'd love to see a team come in with a more traditional name but different from united, city or fc. Maybe eg. Sporting Club of Hobart (Sporting Hobart), Hobart Sporting Club, Hobart Town, Club Hobart, Tasmania Athletic, Tasmania Combined, , Tasmania Rovers (especially good for a team that roves between 2 home grounds), etc

Just build a stadium on top of the mountain and no name change is required.

Football Club of Van Diemen's Land with a convict on the shield

Get the Pacific Islands involved to get a bigger pool involved. We need all der fans.

Why make it Tasmania though. If they are playing in Hobart call it Hobart.

Hobart Town FC has a nice ring to it. Even Tasmania Rovers.

Their market isn't Hobart.  Its Tasmania.  Without the half of the population that lives in the north and north west of the state they wouldn't have any hope of being sustainable and that means they will have to play games up here and call themselves by a name that will work up here i.e. not Hobart!

They can simply do a Queensland Roar if a northern Tassie team comes through one day.

and new zealand knight's market wasn't auckland, it was all of nz?

wellington phoenix were doing a good job showing that a team focusing on 1 city but branching out into others could pull good crowds. This season aside, they have been able to have 'wellington' in their name and still get good crowds at eden park, dunedin, christchurch

And there you have it..................

Purchased Franchises zones over actually earning your place in the top flight

#ProRelforAus

omg plastic franchises amirite

correct

I know the below link has it own thread but thought I would post it here as it will have ramifications in relation to expansion

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/sport/soccer/channel-10-and-fox-sports-edge-closer-to-a-partnership-for-aleague-tv-rights-20170119-gtuw1h.html

Unless expansion raises new revenue I can't see how the FFA can support 2 new teams in the HAL. Even if the new club's have the Capitol, FFA is copping massive heat from clubs in regard to fund distribution.

My view is the FFA have played us all
Expansion was a hot topic during TV negotiations, but I predict that they will pull out all stops to delay expansion until the game approaches next TV deal in 2023.

SLowy on the day of the TV deal being secured by Foxtel made a comment that we will not expand for the sake of expansion followed by some blah-blah.
So whilst bid criteria will be released in Feb, sorry July, sorry some other point of time.....I believe expansion will again be excused as low priority.

Until we see a statement from FFA with criteria and publicly release key dates for submissions by all bids and when bid submissions close and when expansion will take place, one must be sceptical

The most likely scenario is the FFA saying something generic such as working behind the scenes with certain interested parties and some additional blah-blah as to avoid any level of commitment.

What a shame the game has come to this

Further more it now makes sense as to why FFA basically made Foxtel the reseller for the FTA content and also saying broadcasters will have a say in expansion so that as to deflect the responsibility and outcomes to their broadcast partner.

This demonstrates a lack of responsibility by the FFA for the game and the league whilst keeping their self interests as individuals the key priority

Nothing has changed

Exactly right Chris

South Melbourne really need to think long and hard before going over to the dark side.

A League priority is about ownership not expansion

I think even the most optimistic of us expected the FFA was being disingenuous when talking expansion during the TV rights negotiations, same for the "criteria", and how they've kept pushing it back.

Plastic franchises or not, the players on the field are real and they are playing good quality football in front of large crowds and with national tv coverage and reporting in the mainstream press. Many people are now 'diehard' fans of those teams.
Yes, it's a 'franchise' business model and yes the teams are not necessarily 'clubs' like the old NSL teams were, but take a look at something like the RBB and tell me that those football fans are being dudded by the current model.

So far as to say that there is no A-league without ownership, hence it's priority - until we have broadcast revenue great enough so owners won't lose any money (i.e. we can virtually do away with private owners if/when the league/teams can pay for themselves). Increased revenue appeases this priority i.e. greater certainty, decreased $ losses & decreased risk for owners (or losing owners altogether).

Expansion is needed (or will be used) to increase broadcast revenue - there is no other real reason for expansion, thus expansion will be a priority. 

I'd expect to see expansion that supposedly increases the value of the yet-to-be-sold component of the broadcast deal. So more Sydney/Melbourne derbies incoming. 

If FFA can't sort out another Brisbane side, I reckon a financially sound South bid with Victory's, City's and Foxtel's blessing will be the first pick.

Is that what real clubs are being strangled for ? So the RBB can avoid worrying about relegation

Pretty sure they could follow a non-HAL team if they feel like it.

we can virtually do away with private owners if/when the league/teams can pay for themselves.

Given 10's regional partner (WIN) is a naming sponsor of stadium that it currently under used (only 6 games per year of professional sport) in Wollongong
the Wolves better star prepping