Launceston’s mayor has hit out at the AFL’s decision to end Hawthorn home games in the city from 2028, saying the move puts tens of millions of dollars in local economic activity at risk without any guaranteed replacement.
Matthew Garwood said the decision was made without the council having any engagement from the AFL or the state government to understand its impact on Northern Tasmania.
“After more than 25 years of partnership, contribution and community building, the very least our region deserved was meaningful engagement,” Garwood said.
“We sought it. We were denied it.”
The AFL has confirmed Hawthorn will stop playing home matches in Tasmania after 2027 to give the new Tasmania Devils “clear ownership” of football in Tasmania from 2028.
Garwood said the City of Launceston had gathered data showing Hawthorn games generated around $80 million in economic benefit for Northern Tasmania between 2022 and 2025.
Interstate visitors spent significantly more than locals and delivered crucial winter trade for accommodation, hospitality, retail and transport, he said.
“You do not recklessly gamble tens of millions of dollars in local economic activity without guarantees, without a plan, and without even the basic respect of sitting down with the host community to work through a practical pathway,” he said.
Garwood said the council had written formally to the AFL and the Premier twice seeking dialogue but received no response.
“That is not leadership, and it is not good faith,” he said.
He also pointed to the premier’s public election commitment that northern Tasmania would receive more AFL content and that there would be a planned transition.
“What we have seen since is the opposite: no engagement, no certainty, and a decision that removes content first and asks questions later,” Garwood said.
The mayor warned the AFL’s decision assumed a seamless shift into the Devils era, but key elements remained unresolved.
The Macquarie Point stadium in Hobart has already been delayed until at least 2031, and Garwood said even that timeline seemed far from certain.
“If major elements change, if timelines shift, or if commitments are altered, this could leave Tasmania with reduced AFL content overall and northern Tasmania would wear the immediate loss,” he said.
Garwood said the council had put forward a compromise that included a limited number of Hawthorn games during the transition, timed for when the Devils were playing away.
“There is no need to rip content out of Northern Tasmania overnight,” he said.
He stressed the city supported the Tasmania Devils but said backing the new team shouldn’t come at Northern Tasmania’s expense.
“A transition is not a mere courtesy; it is an economic and community necessity,” he said.
