Alderman McKendrick said he would consider moving a motion at tomorrow's Launceston City Council meeting calling for an urgent meeting with the Premier to discuss the issue.

He was responding to reports of a meeting in Hobart on Friday between AFL chief Andrew Demetriou and Premier David Bartlett at which the possibility of playing extra AFL games at Bellerive Oval was discussed.

Cricket Tasmania chairman Tony Harrison and chief executive David Johnston have both come out in support of the move.

Alderman McKendrick said: "I'm astounded that the state government would even sit down and consider playing any AFL games at Bellerive, considering the comments that have come from past premiers, the current premier and even AFL Tasmania general manager Scott Wade that Aurora Stadium is the home of AFL in Tasmania.

"We have always accepted that cricket was to be played in Hobart and AFL football would be at Aurora - and that was the deal.

"I thought we were all Tasmanians and that the duplication of facilities in the state had finished."

Alderman McKendrick said additional money would be better spent on upgrading Aurora Stadium to a 25,000 capacity rather than upgrading Bellerive Oval.

He said that if other AFL clubs were interested in playing an extra two or three games in Tasmania, they could be accommodated at Aurora Stadium.

"It is just unbelievable that the people involved in Bellerive keep trying to prop up their own ground by trying to get AFL down there when we have the stadium for AFL in Tasmania in Launceston already," he said.

Launceston's Acting Mayor Frank Nott supported Alderman McKendrick's stand.

"We don't want to jeopardise in any way for the city our strong relationship with Hawthorn and the state government," he said.

"Former premier Jim Bacon's vision was for Hobart to be the home of cricket and Launceston was the home of football, and we have to stick rock-solid on that one."

Fellow Launceston alderman Rob Soward added his condemnation to the Hobart- based AFL push, calling on Mr Bartlett to adopt Jim Bacon's big-picture approach.

" Now we we have a Southern Tasmanian- dominated cabinet that wants to feed egos and ultimately jeopardise what has been an amazing Tasmanian success story," Alderman Soward said.

" If Hobart residents want to see AFL, I urge them to jump in their car and drive two hours north, just as Northern Tasmanians do in the opposite direction when they want to watch the cricket."

Bass federal Liberal candidate Steve Titmus added his voice to the chorus of support for Aurora Stadium as the home of AFL.

"Launceston is the home of AFL in Tasmania and Hobart the home of cricket - end of story," he said.

"It's poor policy to even think about splitting the Tasmanian football market - it would destroy the great work that has been done and undermine the future of the game in this state."