Kingborough Council will vote on Monday to lock in the land arrangements behind the Tasmania Devils’ new high-performance training centre in Kingston, south of Hobart.
The centre will become the AFL and AFLW club’s training and administration home.
It will be built at Kingston Twin Ovals as part of the wider Kingborough Sports Precinct.
Councillors will be asked to confirm long-term leases to the Tasmania Devils Football Club over the land needed for the training centre and the existing AFL oval.
They will also begin the formal process of leasing the same land to the state government as a backup.
That reversionary lease would hand the land to the state if the club’s lease was ever terminated.
A council report says it offers “important protection for council from the potential to take on responsibility for a $100 million asset”.
But the leases cannot be signed yet, with the main precinct title still needing to be subdivided into separate titles.
To get around the delay, the council wants to grant construction licences so the club can occupy the land and start work in the meantime.
Under the plan, the club would also manage construction of a new oval, known as Oval 3, which will become the home of the Kingborough Tigers Football Club.
The report says handing that job to the club “removes elements of risk to council associated with management of the project”, including cost, time and reputation.
The cost of building the centre and replacing any displaced facilities will be met by the state government and the AFL.
The club will share use of Oval 3 and the existing cricket ground during winter, under a shared-use licence covering the Devils, the Tigers and the Kingborough Knights Cricket Club.
The council will consider the report at its ordinary meeting on July 6.
