Question - Richmond AFL Game in Hobart - Costs & support

Tuesday 11 November 2025

Ms ARMITAGE question to MINISTER for SPORT, Mr DUIGAN

[2.43 p.m.]

I have been told by the minister's office or staff that you probably can't answer the questions. However, I'm quite sure that the minister, Mr Duigan, can answer for me some questions regarding AFL bookings, and probably a little bit disappointing that they've taken some responsibility off him in the past and I'm sure he'd be more than capable and quite happy to have some of it back. I appreciate that he might not be able to answer some of the questions, but I know he will do his very best.

Can the minister confirm what the costs to government are regarding the recent announcement for Richmond to play an AFL home game in Hobart? Can the minister confirm that the decision made to support Richmond playing in Hobart will not adversely affect Hawthorn and commitments for AFL in Launceston? Can the minister update the Chamber on the government's position on continuing to support Hawthorn playing at the redeveloped UTAS Stadium, ensuring support for Launceston and northern Tasmania and not just Hobart?

Second, Richmond CEO Shane Dunn says[tbc]:

The club's reasons for selling a home game to Tasmania are more than commercial, and from a football perspective, we're hopeful that we can align our VFL fixture to this game, creating another opportunity for our developing list to travel together.

Can the minister please advise if there are plans to align the VFL team and Richmond, playing a VFL home game in Tasmania? I find it very unusual. It's almost like confuse and conquer. We have Stadiums Tasmania, we have Events Tasmania and we have Sport. I would have hoped that the minister should have some responsibility there. Hopefully, minister, they will give that back to you, but I would love you to come up with something, if you can, for the people of the north who are quite concerned about Hawthorn and how long they will be playing in Launceston.

ANSWER

Mr President, I thank the member for Launceston for the question. It is a good one and I was very pleased to be at Ninja Stadium yesterday for the announcement of the Richmond Football Club playing two games in the state, one next year and one the following year. I can confirm that the publicly known amount for that, I believe mentioned yesterday, was at $1 million per game. It's a $2 million investment from the government to have Richmond play those two home games in Hobart. I think it's very important -

Ms Forrest - They got flogged when they were here at the end of the year, by the mighty Roos.

Mr DUIGAN - I can't comment there, but we do know that Richmond has a very large following in Tasmania. I'm reliably informed that the two biggest footy crowds at Ninja Stadium have both been for Tiger games, so I believe it's a positive step.

We know from a long period of time ‑ over 25 years now ‑ with Hawthorn playing in Launceston, what we see by way of return in terms of the government's investment, with a 5:1 return on investment typically the case for Hawthorn games. We will see that continue through a new deal, which is a $9.1 million deal to have four men's Hawthorn games at UTAS Stadium in 2026 and again in 2027. That is four regular season games and a practice match. We see Hawthorn continuing to be a very important part of the footy landscape there, as we build towards the very exciting change in the landscape in Tasmanian sport with the introduction of the Tasmania Devils Football Club in 2028. I think we're all really looking forward to that.

I should also point out that the Tasmania Devils VFL team will be running around next year. Again, to your point about Richmond aligning its VFL schedule to have that VFL game here in Hobart as well, I don't have any detail about that, but if the CEO of the club is saying that, then that's likely to be the case.

In terms of where this sits, the Hawthorn deal, and indeed the Richmond deal, are major event partnerships and thus funded by Events Tasmania and sit in that portfolio. Regarding the continuation or otherwise of those things, it would be remiss of me to comment, other than to say I think the Premier is on the record as saying that at least, I believe, for 2028 and 2029, that there will be more football in the north, not less. There'll be a minimum of six games at the redeveloped UTAS Stadium. Whether that turns out to be Hawthorn or the mighty and magnificent Tasmania Devils, that remains to be seen. What we can all look forward to is more AFL, AFLW, VFL and VFLW in Tasmania as we rightfully take our position on the national stage.