The Tasmanian state government's plan to home a Victorian AFL side in Tasmania is a strategy to seek out latest "competitive advantages" over vulnerable debt-ridden clubs.
Premier Gutwein believed that AFL boss Gillon McLachlan had to give some serious consideration to "whether some of those outlying clubs that they have poured so much money into be a part of the AFL's future moving forward".
No club has been named, but St Kilda, who are in the red to the tune of $12 million, could be targeted after an ill-fated switch to Seaford in 2010 has left the Saints more vulnerable than any of the other teams in Victoria.
Gutwein, as of yet, would not reveal the finer details but his plan implies an AFL team playing 11 home games in Launceston and Hobart would be of greater financial benefit than to continue paying Hawthorn and North Melbourne for eight games a year in the state until 2022.
It is unclear if state taxpayers would have to fork out the outstanding debts of a club before it settled in Tasmania.
Gutwein also refused to elaborate whether a relocated team would play under a similar name to its own or would the licence permit the government to adopt a Tasmania Devils moniker.
https://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/6743777/premier-to-look-at-afl-relocation-options/
