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(Redirected from Tasmania Devils)
Australian rules football club
In May 2023, Tasmania secured an AFL licence following a unanimous vote of AFL club presidents. The club will first compete in the Victorian Football League (VFL), starting in 2026. The club may also enter the VFL Women's (VFLW) competition in either 2025 or 2026.
Australian rules football in Tasmania has long been the most popular spectator sport. A 2018 study of Internet traffic showed 79% of Tasmanians (424,459) were interested in it, the highest rate in the country, which was, according to Roy Morgan, a figure higher than the number of supporters of around half of existing AFL clubs.
The notion of a Tasmanian team in the VFL/AFL competition had long been suggested, with multiple formal propositions and bids since the 1980s. Successive bids during expansion periods for the competition in the 1990's and late 2000's were spurned in favour of teams in Fremantle, Port Adelaide, Gold Coast and Greater Western Sydney. In 2019 a government-appointed taskforce chaired by Brett Godfrey, with backing from the Tasmanian Government and at the advice of the AFL, was set up to commission a business case for a team to be assessed by the league. By 2021 the state's premier, Peter Gutwein, refused to re-negotiate deals to extend Tasmanian-based AFL premiership matches for Victorian clubs Hawthorn and North Melbourne, without the AFL committing to a timetable for the introduction of a Tasmanian team. An independent review was subsequently overseen by former AFL Commissioner and Geelong Football Club president Colin Carter and was publicly released in mid-2021, which concluded a stand-alone Tasmanian side could be financially viable with the ongoing assistance of government and league funding.
In November 2022, amidst ongoing momentum and public interest throughout the year, an in-principle agreement was reached between the AFL and Tasmanian Government, under premier Jeremy Rockliff, on commercial terms for Tasmania's bid for a 19th licence, which would be awarded to a government-established entity known as the Tasmanian AFL License Taskforce. Following the securing of federal government funding for a new purpose-built stadium on Hobart's foreshore, the AFL and club presidents met on 2 May 2023 and provided unanimous support to award a license to Tasmania. The following day, Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan formally announced the team's admission to the competition at North Hobart Oval, confirming the men's team will join the Australian Football League from the 2028 season. The starting season for a women's team to compete in the AFL Women's competition has not yet been confirmed.
Identity
Nickname and colours
On 18 March 2024, the Tasmania Football Club's branding, colours and foundation guernsey was officially launched at several historical football-related sites across the state. The team's name was announced as the Tasmania Devils, with the nickname acknowledging the carnivorous marsupial extinct in the mainland and found only in Tasmania. The devils nickname has previously been used by the state's Victorian Football League (VFL) and Talent League sides and was confirmed only after negotiations with Warner Bros., whose Tasmanian Devil cartoon character held a trademark on the name. The colours of myrtle green, rose red and primrose yellow were adopted and are based on the colours of the historical Tasmanian interstate representative teams. A foundation guernsey, green with a centrally located red "T" on a yellow map of Tasmania, was unveiled. The guernsey received some criticism for being underwhelming, though Tasmanian broadcaster David Lithgow later confirmed the guernsey was considered a "foundation jumper" by the club to be used sparingly in the AFL.
Training base
The club will be based at the Kingston Twin Ovals complex, located in the town of Kingston, twelve kilometers south of the Hobart City Centre. The facility has been the long-term home ground of the Kingborough Football Club. $70 million of renovations will be undertaken to upgrade the facility for the Devils. In addition to the two existing football ovals at the site, two more ovals, a gym, aquatic centre, recovery areas, indoor training and administrative facilities will be built, providing a permanent home for the club's AFL, AFLW, VFL and Talent League (under-18) teams. The Kingston announcement came after several months of geotechnical investigations at the government's original site, within or adjacent to the Rosny Parklands on Hobart's eastern shore, revealed extensive works would need to be completed to allow the construction of the facility.
Leadership roles
Grant O'Brien, former CEO of Woolworths and chair of Tourism Tasmania, was appointed the new club's first chairman in July 2023 by the Tasmanian AFL Licence Taskforce. In September, a board chaired by O'Brien was announced, including Kath McCann, James Henderson (AFL talent manager), Alastair Lynch, Alicia Leis, Roger Curtis, Laura McBain, Graeme Gardner and Kathy Schaefer. Former Richmond player Jack Riewoldt was appointed club culture manager. Former Richmond Football Club CEO Brendon Gale was appointed the club's inaugural Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2025.
Corporate
During the 2024 launch, the club commenced selling foundation membership packs for between A$10 and $15 with an initial target of 40,000 by October (one of the original conditions of entry set by the AFL). The club exceeded this target within 2 hours and had sold over 121,000 memberships just two days after launch, giving it the highest on-paper membership of any club in the AFL and taking just 24 hours to break the league's all-time membership record. In September 2024, the club passed 200,000 members, raising a total of more than $2 million in membership revenue and making it the 5th largest sports club in the world by total membership. The club has over 205,000 members as of 11 December 2024. This amounts to almost half of Tasmania's population, which at the 2021 census was about 550,000.
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