Tears flow as Devils boss stays defiant on AFL future
Shayne Hope and Roger Vaughan |
Amid fear and tears for their future, the Tasmania Devils are also defiant and bullishly optimistic they are on track to become the AFL’s 19th team.
The state’s Labor opposition is poised to pass a no-confidence motion against Liberal premier Jeremy Rockliff, which could endanger the Devils club.
It comes as Rockliff faces increasing heat over his party’s financial management and plans for a new stadium in Hobart.
The proposed 23,000-seat roofed venue at Macquarie Point in Hobart is a contractual condition of the Devils’ entry into the AFL in 2028. Tasmania’s political uncertainty casts doubt on the timing of the stadium’s construction and this could be a killer blow for the new team.
In a statement on Wednesday, Tasmania Football Club said the turmoil presented a “serious risk” to its future.
A group of key Devils figures on Wednesday pleaded for politicians to put aside their differences for the sake of the club.
Kath McCann, the club’s general manager of marketing, corporate affairs and social impact, was reduced to tears.
“This club is powered by our future generations; by our kids and by our grandkids,” McCann said.
“What this looks like is uncertainty, what it looks like is a risk to invest, what it looks like is a state not unified, and I think we’re better than that,” McCann said.
“And I think our leaders need to think about the consequences of their actions.
Later on Wednesday, Devils chief executive Brendon Gale struck a more upbeat tone, noting the challenges but defiantly spruiking the team’s creation was running ahead of schedule.
Like McCann, he noted the benefits of an AFL team in Tasmania and what the new stadium would mean.
“As far as we’re concerned, it’s business as usual. We’re getting on with the business – we have to – of building an organisation and building teams,” Gale told Fox Footy’s AFL360.
“Clearly our existence is conditional upon the delivery of a stadium.”
Gale added the AFL stadium deal with the Tasmanian government was outside the team’s control and the Devils must get on with building the new club.
“It’s a huge responsibility, but a great opportunity as well. We strongly believe in the power of this team – it’s not about football … to lift this whole state and we believe in that.
“You just saw the response of Kath McCann. It’s a responsbility that sits heavily with us.
“We’re a team by Tasmania, we’re a team for Tasmania and we’re a team that, we absolutely believe, can lift Tasmania.”
Gale also noted the stadium has support from Labor.
“But I guess it (the no-confidence motion) has sparked this chain reaction.
“There’s some uncertainty at the moment, but we’re very optimistic about the future.”
Gale also noted the difficulty of selling the new stadium to the Tasmanian voters.
“There’s no good time to build a stadium, around the world,” he said.
“They’re always big, they’re expensive and there’s always a whole range of other priorities, so they’re difficult things.
“It’s a big cost, but it’s a huge investment, really important.”
Devils ambassador Jack Riewoldt said club officials remained focused on delivering success for their 210,000 members, despite the ongoing uncertainty.
The Tasmania product and Richmond triple-premiership star did not want to contemplate a future where the Devils don’t exist.
“It would be a big opportunity lost,” Riewoldt said.
The slated cost of the waterfront Macquarie Point stadium has blown out to $945 million, up from the previous estimate of $755 million and the original figure of $715 million.
Cricket Australia has also raised concerns about the proposed hatched roof design, which it says will prevent daylight cricket being played at the venue because of shadows cast on the field.
“In its current format, it doesn’t pass,” Cricket Australia chief executive Todd Greenberg told AAP last Friday.
“So they’ve got to do some more work in order to satisfy us and satisfy cricket that the stadium can accommodate us.”
AAP
