The Australian Football League (AFL) team Hawthorn Football Club quarter-century stint of playing home games in Launceston (City in Tasmania, Australia) will end after the 2027 season.
Tasmania Devils Entry
‘afl.com.au’ stated that with the Australian Football League (AFL) team Tasmania Devils plan to enter the AFL as the league’s 19th team from 2028 the AFL Commission and the executive team have agreed that the ‘Hawks’ will no longer play the home matches out of the University of Tasmania Stadium in Northern Tasmania after 2027.
‘Kicked out of a Home’
The Hawthorn Football Club Coach Sam Mitchell said it feels like his side has been “kicked out of a home” following the Australian Football League’s (AFL’s) decision to end the club’s longstanding arrangement of playing home games in Launceston.
The Hawthorn Football Club, nicknamed the ‘Hawks’, is a professional Australian Rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Dingley Village (Australia) that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club was founded in 1902.
The 100,024-seat Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the ‘G’, is a multipurpose sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Australia. It serves as the home pitch of the Hawthorn Football Club.
Launceston serves as the secondary or ‘home-away-from-home’ ground for the Hawthorn Football Club. The ‘Hawks’ play their home games at the 15,615-capacity University of Tasmania (UTAS) Stadium (also known as the York Park) in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia.
Melbourne (Australia)-based the Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional competition of Australian Rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition from the Victorian Football Association (VFA) with its inaugural season in 1897. It changed its name to Australian Football League (AFL) in 1990 after expanding its competition to the other Australian States in the 1980s.
The Australian Rules football, also called Australian football or Aussie Rules, or more simply footy or just football, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground.
‘Extremely Disappointed’
‘afl.com.au’ further stated that the Hawthorn Football Club had lobbied to continue playing their home games in Launceston after the new Tasmanian Australian Football League (AFL) team the Tasmania Devils’ scheduled debut believing there was sufficient support for the ‘Hawks’ and for Australian football in Tasmania’s North to accommodate both the clubs.
The AFL’s decision to end the arrangement has left Hawthorn “extremely disappointed” with the club saying it would have a significant impact both on and off the field.
Maintained Mitchell, “You know the people at the coffee shop, the hotels and you go on the same sorts of walks … it feels like we’re being kicked out of a home. I understand I guess from the AFL’s perspective … (but) enormously disappointed.”
‘Unprecedented Deal’
The Hawthorn President Andrew Gowers said the success of Hawthorn’s Tasmanian deal had been unprecedented in the AFL.
Added Gowers, “It makes sense to the AFL, it’s what they have decided. There’s no other partnership that’s been like this in the AFL. We’ve never seen a partnership of this length in another State before, have this kind of success. Today is a moment in history. Disappointed … but we think we can be stronger as a result.”
The ‘Hawks’ played their first home game in Launceston in 2001 and have returned every year since. They have played four home games annually in Tasmania since 2007 and will now look to bring those matches back to Melbourne.
Hawthorn boasts 66 wins and one draw from its 87 games at the University of Tasmania Stadium with a winning record of 75.8 percent. The club has won its past 11 games at the venue.
‘Significant Contribution’
The club sent out a statement which read, “Over the past 25 years Hawthorn has made a significant contribution to the strong foundations of AFL football in Tasmania with an undeniable benefit to the Launceston and Tasmanian economy, strong attendance at the AFL games and a loyal following of Tasmanian members. Our removal will have a material impact on the club, both on and off the field. We are extremely grateful to our Tasmanian members and the business community of Northern Tasmania who have been incredible over the last 25 years and have actively voiced its support to keep Hawthorn in Tasmania.”
‘Sole Focus’
AFL Chief Operating Officer (COO) Tom Harley acknowledged the benefits of the ‘Hawks’ arrangement in Tasmania but said it was time for the Tasmania Devils to become the sole focus of elite-level Australian football in the State – “Hawthorn and Tasmania have shared a long and successful partnership over many years, one that has delivered significant benefits for the State, the club, the AFL and, most importantly, the Hawthorn fans across Tasmania, particularly in Launceston. The AFL acknowledges and thanks the ‘Hawks’ for its outstanding contribution to footy in Tasmania and for the role it has played in growing the game and building connection with the Tasmanian and the Launceston communities. With the Tasmania Devils entering the AFL competition in 2028 it is appropriate that the Devils become the primary focus for football in the State giving the Tasmanians their own team to support on the national stage.”North Melbourne had a similar deal with Tasmania in Hobart (city in Australia) before it ended in 2025.
The North Melbourne Football Club played a total of 41 ‘home’ games at the 20,000-capacity Bellerive Oval in Bellerive (Australia) from 2012 and now host multiple games each season in Western Australia under a deal with the State Government.
Key Question:
- Is it unfair and unjustified that the Hawthorn Football Club has been told to leave the University of Tasmania Stadium to make way for the Tasmania Devils?
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