The Late Late Monday Soapbox - Round 13, 2025

[GVGjr]

Now that round 13 is completed it's time to get on your Soapbox
Is it about Andrew Dillon taking the time out of his schedule to meet with Bailey Smith
Collingwoods unreal run with Free kicks

The floor is yours.

[Bornadog]

The arrogance of the AFL insisting a Tassie team must build a stadium with a roof before it can have a license to operate. In the ideal world, it would be great, but a small state like Tasmania just can't afford the ultimate stadium. Why not come up with a compromise and maybe spend half the money, build a stadium that can be upgraded in the future. I understand Hobart stadium is not in a good spot and the AFL want the new stadium close to the CBD - just come up with a design that suits a budget.

Either you want a Tassie team or you don't - that should be the decision.

[jeemak]

The arrogance of the AFL insisting a Tassie team must build a stadium with a roof before it can have a license to operate. In the ideal world, it would be great, but a small state like Tasmania just can't afford the ultimate stadium. Why not come up with a compromise and maybe spend half the money, build a stadium that can be upgraded in the future. I understand Hobart stadium is not in a good spot and the AFL want the new stadium close to the CBD - just come up with a design that suits a budget.

Either you want a Tassie team or you don't - that should be the decision.

It's a completely cynical position for the AFL to take, largely driven by it's private school alumni lining the pockets of developers/ mates for future favours no doubt.

[GVGjr]

The arrogance of the AFL insisting a Tassie team must build a stadium with a roof before it can have a license to operate. In the ideal world, it would be great, but a small state like Tasmania just can't afford the ultimate stadium. Why not come up with a compromise and maybe spend half the money, build a stadium that can be upgraded in the future. I understand Hobart stadium is not in a good spot and the AFL want the new stadium close to the CBD - just come up with a design that suits a budget.

Either you want a Tassie team or you don't - that should be the decision.

I agree with most of this. The one point I think the AFL has made clear is they are not convinced a team can be set-up for success without a roof on a stadium.
Tassie should have it's own team but I can understand why people are nervous about it
SA and WA had the same concerns about the costs of their stadiums but are now very pleased with what it has added to their states. Tassie will be the same if they can get this done

You have to wonder if Hobart and Launceston could have been brought right up to standard with a $250M investment in those grounds.

[mjp]

SA and WA had the same concerns about the costs of their stadiums but are now very pleased with what it has added to their states. Tassie will be the same if they can get this done

Are we?? SA might be given Adelaide Oval is walking distance from the CBD. Optus is walking distance from one place - the Crown complex and I'm not sure Perth people are that excited about it...

Don't build it Tassie. Stare them down.

[lemmon]

As a Tassie resident, I'd rather not have a team than build the stadium, and a lot of people I know down here feel the same way.

I get the 'it's not the same pot of money' argument, but the state has some of the worst health and education outcomes in the country, there's a Government hiring freeze and they're privatising public assets because of the financial black hole.

If you want a good idea of how infrastructure is run down here - take a look at the Devonport terminal debacle. The new Spirit of Tasmania vessels are complete...but TT-Line and the government completely bungled building the necessary terminals in Devonport, meaning they won't be done until October 2026 and the brand-new boats are in storage for over two years. Oh, and the terminal budget has blown out from $90mil to $493mill.

It's fanciful to think a stadium would get even close to the budgeted figure, or be done to the AFL's time-frames anyway.

Upgrade what's already there or kill the team entirely and move on. There's bigger things than football.

[Sedat]

Does Richard Goyder's job as Head of the AFEL Commission consist solely of instructing those in attendance at the Hall of Fame and Brownlow Medal dinners to "charge your glasses"? I literally haven't seen or heard him do anything else in the last 10 years or so.

I'm sure we could get any half-decent local MC on about $100 an hour to do this just as effectively who won't cost a multi-million dollar salary.