Minister for Sport and Recreation NIC STREET
EDITORIAL
Supporting sport from the grassroots up Our Government believes every Tasmanian deserves the opportunity to lead an active and healthy lifestyle and we will do everything we can to encourage and support them to achieve this. We want more Tasmanians to get active and dream big, no matter where they live, what their age or their circumstances. Elite level sport is great entertainment for Tasmanians to enjoy, and it also provides pathways for men, women and children to aspire to. We know the positive impacts this has, at a community and grassroots level. For aspiring youngTasmanian cricketers to have recently been given the chance to watch some of the world’s best players competing in an historic Ashes Test match on their home soil was the opportunity of a lifetime. We want to create that opportunity for young Tasmanians across all sporting codes, and we will never apologise for being an ambitious Government. That’s why I support a women’s and men’s AFL and A-League team. A Tasmanian AFL and A-League team will help to ensure that our footballers have the same pathways as young players from every other State. And why shouldn’t a young Tasmanian Auskicker or soccer player have the opportunity to aspire to play for a Tasmanian team in the National competition? As Minister for Sport and Recreation, I will work to make certain that these Tasmanian clubs give back to the community, have a culture of inclusiveness, and encourage grassroots participation at every opportunity. It’s not just the playing side that we want to promote. Initiatives, such as the Essendon Football Club’s Purple Bombers supporter group, aim to create safe, inclusive environments by encouraging diversity and acceptance within the sporting community. Or the current AFL premiers Melbourne Football Club’s Community and Grassroots Programs, which are all about supporting healthy lifestyles
and enhancing community spirit. These are the sort of community initiatives that I am passionate about, and this is what I want from Tasmanian teams in the AFL, AFLW and other Tasmanian teams in national sporting competitions. But toachieveallofthis,weneedtheinfrastructure. We want every region of Tasmania to benefit from our ambitious, but achievable sporting infrastructure plan. That is why we will continue to invest in further development of the Dial Regional Sports Complex in the North-West. This vital piece of sporting infrastructure will help to support the community and the aspirations of young people in the North- West: put simply, it will help them to dream big. The complex has been designed to AFL specifications - and when we have secured our own men’s and women’s AFL and A-League teams, we want games to be played on the North-West coast, just as we took the NBL Blitz to the North-West coast last year. In the North of the State, we have big plans for UTAS Stadium and it will remain the major stadium in the North. The plan includes redevelopment over the next three to five years, increasing the capacity of the ground, while also providing retractable seating to enable rectangular configuration and an indoor arena capable of holding basketball, netball and other sports and entertainment events, future proofing the stadium for decades to come. Our aspirational vision for our sporting and entertainment future also includes a plan to develop a multi-purpose entertainment facility at Regatta Point that will deliver significant social and economic outcomes, and create a spectacular and iconic entry to Hobart. Whilst this new facilitywill be “epic” –as expressed by Brisbane Lions’ champion and passionate Tasmanian Mitch Robinson – it all means nothing unless the Tasmanian teams that play there are giving back to the communities around the State that support them.
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Hospitality Review: April 2022
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