Richmond are headed to Tasmania after securing a deal to relocate their Marvel Stadium home game to Hobart for the 2026 AFL season. 7NEWS understands the Tigers will face Brisbane at Hobart’s Ninja Stadium next season.
The Tigers are expected to maintain their 10 matches at the MCG, with the additional Marvel Stadium match they have hosted in recent years moved to the Apple Isle. The deal is likely to span at least the next two seasons before the Tasmania Devils enter the AFL in 2028.
The Tigers are tipped to net approximately $1 million per season from the deal, a major uplift on the deal to play at Marvel Stadium. As revealed by 7NEWS in July, the Tasmanian Government led the pursuit of the Tigers playing in Hobart to ensure AFL matches remain in the state’s capital before the Devils’ introduction.
North Melbourne previously played four games in Hobart until 2024, which was phased to two matches in 2025 as the Kangaroos sold two matches to WA. The Roos will exit Tasmania completely next season, with two matches remaining across Perth and Bunbury and the additional two matches moving back to Marvel Stadium.
Tasmania has proven an incredibly strong breeding ground for the Tigers, with club legends Matthew Richardson, Royce Hart and Michael Roach hailing from the state. Of the 42 AFL matches played at Ninja Stadium, the venue’s two biggest crowds include Richmond in 2016 (17,844) and 2015 (17,544).
Richmond fans have voted with their feet on the club’s deal with Marvel Stadium in recent years, with an average of 21,753 fans attending their last four home matches. This year’s crowd of 18,423 against Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium was the club’s lowest attendance at a home match in Victoria outside of COVID since 2003. The additional finances from the new deal will also assist with the club’s redevelopment project at Punt Road, due to be completed by mid-2027.
