Almanac Footy (Proposal) – Where to build the Tassie AFL ground: the Canberra solution

 

 

Almost everyone agrees that Tassie should have an AFL team.  One sticking point, however, is where the ground should be located. Hobart, Launceston, Launceston, Hobart!  The argument could go on forever.

The best way to solve this would be to use the Canberra solution.  You may remember that neither Melbourne nor Sydney people could stomach the notion that the “other” city would become Australia’s capital.  So it was decided that both cities would miss out on that right.

Consequently, a new metropolis had to be created from scratch. That’s how we ended up with Canberra.  The theory was that, “if you build it, they will come”.  Sure enough, it was built and pretty soon politicians started flooding in from everywhere (like XXXXXXXXXXX supporters to a used dentures give-away).

The location of Canberra was relatively well received throughout the nation, barring states that don’t begin with an “N” or “V”.  And some folks south of the NSW border are still seeking therapy about the fact that Canberra is much closer to Sydney than Melbourne (by car approx. 3 hours from Sydney compared to 7 hours from Melbourne – the mountains got the blame apparently).

Tasmanians need to do a similar thing, except that the stadium needs to be smack bang in the middle of Hobart and Launceston.  Looking at a Tassie map, Interlaken seems ideal.  Population in the 2016 census was a grand total of 24 people.  Unlike Canberra, it already has two lakes.  It’s inland, just like Canberra and, when the town name goes up in lights, tourists from Interlaken, Switzerland are bound to come down in droves.  That should more than pay for the cost of the whole project.

Of course, it’s not just a matter of building the stadium.  The whole town will need to be made into a city.  Back in the day, American architect Walter Burley Griffin’s plan won the competition for the design of the new city of Canberra.

He would be ideal for this Tassie project but, sadly, we are too late.  We lost him in 1937 at the tender young age of 60.  Perhaps Canberra’s Lake Burley Griffin played a role in his demise.

It seems unlikely that just one person could replace him these days (what with social media, fan clubs and the like to deal with).  So it is suggested that a trio of experts be called in for the task. How about a current footballer – Dockers number 10, a recently retired number 18 at Essendon, and a former Giant who wore number 32.  What a team – Walters, Hurley, Griffin.

One last problem with the stadium – if only we could put the Victorian Government in charge of the project so that it could be build on time and under budget!

 

To read more on the Almanac site by Doug Long click here.

 

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Our writers are independent contributors. The opinions expressed in their articles are their own. They are not the views, nor do they reflect the views, of Malarkey Publications.

 

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