Tasmania's AFL Team Joins Cricket and Tennis Scene

Tasmania's sporting culture has been defined for decades by the aspiration for a Tasmania AFL team and by the Tasmania Tigers cricket team's Sheffield Shield history, with the island state's passionate AFL following (the Hawthorn Hawks and North Melbourne play regular "home" games in Hobart and Launceston under community partnership arrangements) finally set to be rewarded with the Tasmania Devils joining the AFL competition from 2028. The confirmation of the Tasmanian AFL licence in 2023 and the planned new stadium at Macquarie Point, Hobart (a purpose-built AFL stadium) is the most significant sporting development in Tasmanian history.

Tasmania Devils (AFL, from 2028), the Tasmania Devils will join the AFL competition in 2028, playing home games at a new Macquarie Point Stadium in Hobart (planned capacity 23,000) and sharing home games between Hobart and Launceston (UTAS Stadium). The announcement of the Tasmania AFL licence was greeted with extraordinary community celebration, with the island's decades-long campaign for a home team finally succeeding. The Devils will be the AFL's twentieth club.

Sheffield Shield and Big Bash cricket, the Tasmania Tigers (Sheffield Shield) and the Hobart Hurricanes (Big Bash League) play home games at Blundstone Arena (Bellerive Oval, Hobart) and UTAS Stadium (Launceston). The Hobart Hurricanes have been among the BBL's most competitive teams, with the Bellerive Oval atmosphere and the Derwent River backdrop providing a distinctive and beautiful BBL venue. The Tasmanian Sheffield Shield team has produced several Australian Test players over the past decade.

Hobart International (tennis), the Hobart International WTA tennis tournament (January, Domain Tennis Centre, Hobart) is Tasmania's highest-profile international sporting event, providing Hobart with a professional women's tennis tournament in the week before the Australian Open. The tournament has attracted multiple Grand Slam champions as warm-up preparation and provides international tennis of the highest standard.

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race (December 26 start, Sydney) is one of the world's most challenging ocean races, finishing in the Derwent River at Constitution Dock, Hobart. The arrival of the first yachts at Hobart, typically on December 28-29, is one of the most celebrated annual moments in Tasmanian sporting culture.

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