The development finally draws a line under the long-running saga of potential AFL fixtures being played in the state and will also put the brakes on the Supercars' annual visit.

Motorsport will be particularly hard hit with the Symmons Plains round of the national championship (scheduled for November 21-22), the Australian Rally Championships (November 7-8) and Australia Off-Road Championships (October 17-18) set to join Targa Tasmania in the scrapyard.

With AFL and Super Netball fixtures also no longer possible, it raises the question of whether Tasmania will receive any refund on several big-money sport sponsorship deals.

Within an hour of the Tasmanian government announcement on Tuesday, Hawthorn issued a statement saying it was "understanding" and "respects" the decision.

Chief executive Justin Reeves said: "We will always operate in the best interests of the Tasmanian people and on this occasion that unfortunately means not travelling to our home away from home in 2020.

"While we are incredibly disappointed, we also fully support the Premier's decision and we look forward to continuing our long standing partnership and playing games in Tassie in 2021 and beyond."

Just three days earlier the club had said it "remains hopeful" of relocating remaining fixtures to UTAS Stadium.

"We still hold high hopes of playing games in Tassie before season's end," Reeves said on Saturday.

North Melbourne chief executive Ben Amarfio followed suit on Tuesday afternoon.

"This decision has been made with the health and welfare of Tasmanians paramount, and we are fully supportive of it," he said.

"While we are disappointed for our Tasmanian supporters who won't get the opportunity to see us play there this year, we agree with the decision and understand the priority must be on keeping locals healthy and the state up and running."

This will be the first time in 20 years that Tasmania has not hosted a home-and-away season AFL fixture.

WBBL matches scheduled for October 24 and 25 will also have to accept the umpire's verdict, joining events like the Stan Siejka Cycling Classic, Burnie 10, Hockey One and NBL1 already back in the sheds.

Major question marks will also hang over the Tour of Tasmania cycle race, BBL fixtures and Christmas carnivals all scheduled for December.

The Hurricanes are scheduled to host the Melbourne Renegades and Stars at Bellerive Oval on December 7 and 24 respectively and Perth Scorchers at UTAS Stadium in Launceston on December 16.

The Tour of Tasmania, traditionally the jewel in the crown of cycling's National Road Series, is currently scheduled to take place between December 8-12 and include a shorter women's race.

The Latrobe Carnival was cancelled a month ago but no decision has yet been made on sibling events in Launceston, Burnie, Devonport, Rosebery, St Helens and Hobart.

Carnivals promoter Richard Welsh said the border extension hadn't changed his immediate plans to attract interstate competitors to the series, as the first event isn't until December 19 at Rosebery.

But he admitted it might make competitors "more nervous" about whether to commit now or closer to December.

With so many cancellations, Tasmania will reflect on just a handful of major sporting events held here in 2020.

The state's only glimpse of international cricket for the year was a one-day international between Australia and New Zealand scheduled at Bellerive Oval on March 20, but bad weather meant the match was cancelled without a ball being bowled.

BBL fixtures were staged in Hobart on January 3 (v Heat), 13 (Scorchers) and 24 (Thunder) while Adelaide Strikers graced UTAS Stadium on January 19.

Melbourne defeating Hawthorn in a Marsh series match on February 15 represented the state's solitary sip of AFL action.

Tennis emerged among the least affected sports with annual international tournaments going ahead in Hobart, Burnie and Launceston before COVID-19 hit.