Richmond looking at playing games in Hobart [merged]

[tiger101]

Benny Gale keen and club is crunching the numbers. Games at Bellerive in Hobart.

Bad idea to have it at Bellerive Launceston is a great place hour and half from north-west to travel to and roughly about the same from hobart. people from north-west wont travel to hobart to watch football so they wont get the same amount of crowds.

[one-eyed]

I couldn't find this on the web so I scanned it....


Tigers eye Tassie games
By BRETT STUBBS
Sunday Herald-Sun, 25 APR 2010, Page 47


HOBART'S Bellerive Oval could host two Richmond home games as early as next year.

A proposal to play two AFL games at Tasmania's home of cricket has gone before the Tigers' board after being raised by Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale.

Cricket Tasmania supplied stadium figures to Gale -- also a member of AFL Tasmania's board -- outlining the return Richmond would make from hosting games in Hobart.

"If the opportunity presented itself, I think it would be incumbent upon a responsible administration to have a look at playing games in Hobart at Bellerive,'' Gale said of the board meeting.

"We are a club with a strong national footprint, with a lot of financial members in Tassie and, importantly, as a Tasmanian, seeing the success of Hawthorn in driving participation and promoting the game, I think it would be great to have AFL for the whole state.

"But there is a lot of water that needs to go under the bridge obviously with the Government and the AFL. They control the fixture.''

CT chairman Tony Harrison and CT chief executive David Johnston met AFL Tasmania chairman Dominic Baker and AFL Tasmania general manager Scott Wade in Salamanca this week to discuss increasing the ground's use.

If the proposal is successful, it could be announced within the next two months but it is believed Richmond has not been the only club approached.

Games scheduled for Hobart would not come at the detriment of Hawthorn's deal with Launceston, with the plan for the Hawks -- in Tasmania for today's game against North Melbourne -- to continue their four-game a year deal after it expires at the end of this year.

An AFL source said the sport's governing body would look favourably at the proposal.

Baker would not confirm or deny the approach to Richmond but said any more games for Tasmania would only help the state's cause for inclusion.

"The current Government has supported Hawthorn to play in the north and we are very comfortable with that. It has done great things for participation in the north,'' Baker said.

"If Tasmania harbours any thought of getting it's own team in the future, it will need to prove an ability to consume more than four games of football.''

Hawthorn's frequent visits to Launceston have been a great boost for the economy, with accommodation and flights almost completely booked out every game, and it is hoped games in Hobart would bring a similar boost to the southern economy.

A commitment to host AFL games would also help CT's push for further expansion of Bellerive Oval.

CT is hoping to cash in on this year's Federal election to gain further funding for the boutique stadium.

The issue of Bellerive's expansion was raised with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd earlier this year when he attended the Australia-Pakistan Test match in Hobart.

[one-eyed]

Bartlett thumbs nose at Tigers
BRETT STUBBS
April 27, 2010

THE Tasmanian Government will not financially support an AFL club to play home matches in Hobart.

Richmond is looking at playing home games at Bellerive Oval, but with no State Government support the task of luring a team to Hobart, while not impossible, makes it considerably harder.

Premier David Bartlett said yesterday Hawthorn, which gets $3.4 million of Government money a year to play four home games in Launceston, would be the only Government-backed side in Tasmania.

"The Government won't be entering into any arrangements of sponsorship or underwriting of games at Bellerive so therefore any clubs who made arrangements with AFL Tasmania and the TCA [Cricket Tasmania] to play games there would effectively be doing so without Government involvement," he said.

"Having said that, I wouldn't actively stand in the way of it either."

Hawthorn's five-year contract expires at the end of 2012 but, significantly, is due for renegotiation this year.

Cricket Tasmania is keen to see its boutique Bellerive stadium host AFL games, and has sent stadium economic figures to Richmond chief executive Brendon Gale just last week.

While no Government financial support would be a massive blow, an AFL club may look at the Hobart option by the lure of a "clean" stadium and large, untapped football-mad population starved of local AFL content or attempt to attract support from a private entity.

The architect of the Hawks-Tasmania contract, former premier Paul Lennon, has been pushing for more AFL games in Hobart and said Richmond was the logical fit.

"I think it is a very good idea," Mr Lennon said yesterday.

"I think it is time that AFL football was played live in Hobart. I think the Richmond Tigers would be a very good fit given they have had a long-time association with Tasmania.

"Some of Richmond's greatest players have come from Tasmania, Royce Hart and Paul Sproule amongst them."
what is this?

http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2010/04/27/142441_afl.html

[WilliamPowell]

So we are supposed to be playing a home game in Darwin in 2011

Now they say they are looking at 2 home games in Tassie from 2011

That means only 8 home games in Melb

Dead against this idea....

Don't they think the members of this club are suffering enough? Now they want to strip away 3 home games? Don't take too many home games away

Don't do it RFC we deserve better

[yellowandback]

It's another opportunistic play by the club that penalizes the members. The only circumstance where this would be acceptable is if this came off the Etihad home/reserve seat games. If we went from 9 to 7 reserved seat games at the 'g then I would seriously re-consider my reserved seat x 4 membership. Getting tired of this crap.

[cub]

It's another opportunistic play by the club that penalizes the members. The only circumstance where this would be acceptable is if this came off the Etihad home/reserve seat games. If we went from 9 to 7 reserved seat games at the 'g then I would seriously re-consider my reserved seat x 4 membership. Getting tired of this crap.

Same - I allready have MCC, so don't bite the hand that feeds Tigers! Only so much we can put up with 
I am allready peeed off enough with games at etihad - MCC tiger supporter membership coming up if you pull this one on me Richmond.

[Carvels Ring]

One game in Hobart would be a good thing.  make a weekend of it and have a ball.  Great for the local supporters too.  I went to the game on the GC last year and had a great time, met some posters from up there and loved it.  if we get some cash then thats good too!

bring it on!

[cub]

Switch 1 etihad "Home" game no worries - I would go regardless - Went to gold coast 'Cold night twas'

[Carvels Ring]

Switch 1 etihad "Home" game no worries - I would go regardless - Went to gold coast 'Cold night twas'

It was a really mild night.  Wore shorts and thongs.  Our footy was 'cold'

[Ramps]

Looks to me like some are trying to prepare members for a future relocation of the club. Supporters and members will pay the price for the actions of failed administrators in the past and its not fair or right that that happens.

[Carvels Ring]

Looks to me like some are trying to prepare members for a future relocation of the club. Supporters and members will pay the price for the actions of failed administrators in the past and its not fair or right that that happens.

nah, it doesn't look like that at all.  I can't see any connection. 

[the_boy_jake]

Looks to me like some are trying to prepare members for a future relocation of the club. Supporters and members will pay the price for the actions of failed administrators in the past and its not fair or right that that happens.

More likely the board think our current on-field performance will hurt us in the Melbourne market and that for the next 5 years we need to look at every opportunity to expand our supporter base and shore up the bottom line. Hawthorn were innovators and deserve the windfall. If our profits start to fall and we pick up another 2-3 spoons make no mistake the knives will be out for us as an AFL footy club.

[bojangles17]

Looks to me like some are trying to prepare members for a future relocation of the club. Supporters and members will pay the price for the actions of failed administrators in the past and its not fair or right that that happens.

yeah that makes alot of sense ramps , have you driven past Punt rd lately, so that would be another sure indicator of a club considering relocation

[TigerLand]

9 MCG Home games
2 Tasmania Home games or 1 Tas / 1 Darwin.

0 Etihad Home games.

Win-Win-Win.

Get it done RFC.

[WilliamPowell]

9 MCG Home games
2 Tasmania Home games or 1 Tas / 1 Darwin.

0 Etihad Home games.

Win-Win-Win.

Get it done RFC.

9 MCG home games

Can't see it in the short term