There will be a total ban on Australian Rules football at Traeger Park in Alice Springs this year due to an alleged licence breach by AFLNT, according to the mayor of Alice Springs.
The decision to bar AFLNT from accessing the town's premier sports oval means all junior, men's and women's teams will be required to train and play matches elsewhere.
It comes amid an increasingly bitter dispute between the town council and AFLNT, with the football peak body last week threatening to pull the annual Melbourne Demons match from Alice Springs unless the council changed its tune.
In February, the council withdrew its support for this year's community competition, citing long-held concerns that holding matches in town led to spikes in crime and social issues.
Mayor Matt Paterson said the licence breach referred to the AFLNT's alleged failure to provide the council with adequate notice of the competition fixture.
However, he said it was a "separate matter" to the dispute over the community competition.
"AFLNT have breached their contract with the Alice Springs Town Council, so at this stage there'll be no football of any kind at Traeger Park," he said.
"An agreement is an agreement, and so they're signed by both parties. AFLNT have unfortunately breached that, and so we'll go from there.
"We'll continue to work to make sure that the town competition is delivered. We don't want anyone to miss out in town."
Cr Paterson confirmed Traeger Park's gates were locked and patrolled by security on Wednesday night to prevent an U16s match being played at the venue, after the game was moved to an alternate oval.
AFLNT rejects accusation of breach
In a statement, AFLNT defended its position, saying it had not breached the licence agreement and remained committed to delivering the football competitions.
"AFLNT is disappointed by the decision made by ASTC to block access to Traeger Park for the Town competition, with notification going to CAFL clubs within hours of the U16 women's competition commencing on Wednesday night," a spokesperson said.
"In addition to removed access for all competitions, AFLNT has been informed by [the council] that Traeger Park will not be available for football programs such as the 'Footy for Life' all abilities program.
"Not all alternate council venues are suitable for senior football. As a result of access continuing to be denied to Traeger Park, AFLNT has developed a revised fixture for the remainder of Round 1 of the 2023 town competition this weekend."
'No logic' to Traeger Park ban
With competitions beginning this week, there are concerns about logistics.
Kim Webeck, who has worked as a team manager for the Pioneers Football Club over the years, said the fallout between the council and AFLNT was now impacting players in town.
"There's no logic to it," she said.
"I'm not hearing any solutions, I'm just hearing blame and it's starting to look like a really immature decision.
"Playing at Traeger Park is always a highlight for young people because it has the proper grandstand, and now it's sitting idle."
Ms Webeck said it was disappointing to see a "childish approach being taken" over sport, which provided an important social and physical outlet for young people.
"You can't actually deliver the town competitions only using Albrecht Oval," she said.
"There's no other field in Alice Springs that can properly service the competitions because they're not big enough or don't have lights."
AFLNT claims 'priority access' for park
The peak football body held an emergency summit with stakeholders last month, hoping to find a way forward for the community competition.
When AFLNT released the community competition fixture last week — with games scheduled at Traeger Park — it was quickly shut down by the council.
At the time, AFLNT said it had outlined "alternative approaches" for delivering the competition to the council, and the licence agreement gave AFLNT "priority access" to Traeger Park.
"Administrative requirements outlined in the agreement have been substantively met, as such [community football] games have been fixtured at Traeger Park," the statement read.
"It remains AFLNT's position that we intend to work with all key stakeholders to progress both the [community] competition as well as football more broadly across the region.
"Changes have been made to the structure of the fixture, from 2022, to ensure the competition can be delivered safely and in line with expectations of all stakeholder groups."
