THE AFL has pledged to spend $360 million on a Tasmanian team, noting approval for a 19th licence is contingent on funding being secured for a new stadium.
The money, to be spent over a decade, includes more than $90 million in game development and $33 million to develop young players in three new "talent academies".
AFL chief Gillon McLachlan said $210 million would be rolled out for a new club over a decade to cover "base funding", including specialist list establishment.
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He said the League would also chip in at least $15 million towards a proposed new stadium in Hobart – a figure the AFL had already committed.
Tasmania's admission to the AFL competition is contingent on securing funding for the proposed $715 million stadium project, which is proving increasingly divisive.
The state Liberal government has pledged $375 million towards the project at Macquarie Point and is seeking $240 million from the federal Labor government.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously said the proposal will be examined in the lead-up to the May federal budget.
Some $85 million is expected to be garnered through borrowings against land sale or lease for commercial uses.
"Without a stadium there is no team. The stadium is now the last key requirement," McLachlan told a tourism and business lunch in Hobart on Thursday.
"We have a moment in time here decades in the making, to have a strong Tasmanian team and a sustainable club."
Ten Tasmanian federal politicians have signed a letter urging the AFL to grant the state a 19th licence without the requirement of a new stadium.
"Tasmania is one of the founding football states and has a long history of making rich contributions to the national game," the letter, released on Wednesday, reads.
"We deserve a team of our own without having to make taxpayers pay for a stadium –something no other state has had to do to get a team."
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Liberal MPs Bridget Archer and Gavin Pearce and independent senators Andrew Wilkie and Jacquie Lambie are among those to have signed the letter, along with members of the Greens.
Tasmania's Labor opposition is also against the stadium proposal.
However, McLachlan said in his speech on Thursday that the stadium clause was not unique to the proposal for a Tasmanian team.
"I would note that new or fully redeveloped stadiums were a pre-requisite for the Gold Coast Suns and GWS Giants prior to entry in the AFL competition. To be clear, this is not and has never been just a Tasmanian requirement," he said.
"Our fans want, deserve, and expect the best experience and the best experience needs the best stadiums and the supporters are voting with their feet.
"That is why there can be no team without a stadium. We need to set up a team for future success, not for future failure. It is that simple."
Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff conceded it was a "tough sell" but said he would never say no to an opportunity.
"We've been excluded because we don't have the infrastructure that every other state has. Tasmania should not be overlooked. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity," he told the event.
McLachlan's visit to Tasmania on Thursday also includes a stop in Launceston in the state's north.
- with staff writers
