AFL Faces Expansion Opposition Despite $242M Pledge

The Australian Football League is willing to invest heavily to expand, but adding a new team is far from a done deal.

The league has agreed to spend $242 million over 10 years to add a team in Tasmania, but that is contingent on finding funding for a new stadium.

The funding would go primarily toward club operations, with $60.5 million allocated to game development and $22.2 million toward three new academies for developing young players.

The league is seeking $161.4 in government funding toward a new stadium, which has raised concerns in Tasmania, an island state of Australia with a population of 541,071 as of September 2020. 

In September, the AFL signed Australia’s largest sports media rights deal ever, inking a seven-year, $3.05 billion deal with Seven Network, Foxtel, and Telstra. The deal begins in 2025.

The planned stadium would be in Hobart, on Tasmania’s southern coast. The plan has drawn opposition from those who live on the northern end of the island.

Other AFL teams have raised concerns as well, namely that stadium costs might run higher than current estimates. The league has promised at least $10 million toward construction costs.