HAWTHORN is edging closer to a new deal to play 'home' matches in Launceston, pushing ahead talks with the Tasmanian government about a multi-year contract extension.
The Hawks' current agreement to host four games for premiership points plus a pre-season match each year expires at the end of 2016.
Hawthorn and the Tasmanian government – the club's naming rights sponsor - have been in productive talks for about four months, and Hawks CEO Stuart Fox "absolutely" expects a new deal to be struck by the end of this year.
"Discussions have been really positive, progressing well, and I would hope that in coming months there would be an announcement around hopefully a future partnership," Fox told AFL.com.au.
The Hawks signed a five-year contract to play at Aurora Stadium in 2011, worth well above $3 million per season.
For the next agreement, Launceston City Council lobbied to increase the Hawks' 'home' premiership matches to five per year.
That met with resistance from the Hawks, with Fox saying in February it would be "very difficult" to arrange, and the council's focus has turned to attracting bigger Victorian clubs to the city.
"We definitely want to see a bit of a change to the model to the games that are allocated," Launceston mayor Albert Van Zetten said.
"We're thankful that Freo is coming this weekend … that's going to be a huge game, but teams like Freo, Brisbane, probably the Adelaide teams, West Coast – they don't bring as many supporters with them.
"Whereas if it was another Melbourne team we would have more people coming over to watch the games, and that's what we see as very important."
The Western Bulldogs and North Melbourne are the only Victorian teams to play away games for premiership points against Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium since 2009.
Fox declined to comment about what shape the next model might take, but said the Hawks were keen to host "high-drawing" matches in Launceston.
The Hawks and Collingwood clashed in this year's NAB Challenge opener, with 15,422 supporters attending.
Sunday's blockbuster against League leaders Fremantle has also attracted strong ticket sales.
"The Collingwood pre-season game was really successful; we expect this weekend to be successful," Fox said.
"It's not just about Victorian clubs; it's about having really good quality games down there.
"(Fixturing matches against Victorian clubs has) always been part of the discussion and … we're happy to try and support that.
"We've always requested from the AFL at least one-to-two games a year from Melbourne-based teams."
Hawthorn has built an imposing record of 35 wins from 46 matches – including its past 13 games undefeated – at Aurora Stadium.
In 2014, the club's presence in Tasmania was valued at nearly $30 million combined for economic impact and brand exposure.
"We know Hawthorn is so important to the Launceston community, so they've been here for their 15th year now," Van Zetten said.
"They've built up a good base. We know a lot of their supporters come over for games which means there's visitors to our city, which is important, and they've added nearly $30 million into our economy every year which is critical to us at this time."
When contacted by AFL.com.au, the Tasmanian government said it would not provide a running commentary on negotiations with Hawthorn.
