Not as an occasional weekend stopover, but as a fully-fledged home complete with a national sporting team and most likely, an animal mascot which we'll all have to Google.

Tasmania is often recognised as a proud football heartland in the sense of AFL, but far more broadly it is a passionate and crazed sporting state.

After all, a state that can produce the likes of Ariarne Titmus, Ricky Ponting, Todd Hodgetts, Richie Porte and Jake Birtwhistle for example has shown it is more than capable of holding its own in a variety of sports.

One of the toughest questions when it comes to a Tasmanian side in any sport is location, location, location.

READ MORE: WBBL stars talk all things Launceston

The sense of placing teams in Hobart merely because it is the Tasmanian capital needs to be done away with immediately if the state is to go anywhere in the national sporting landscape.

The idea of creating teams which brandish Tasmania on their logos but are Hobartian in nature limits the chances of a team being truly embraced by Northern Tasmanians.

They'll base most of their activities around Hobart, while Launceston and the rest of Northern Tasmania have to settle for the occasional game and community outreach program with the expectation of total support in return.

Part of the reason Hobart can continue to attract the teams seems to be its facilities, but that only comes about because someone, be it government or private enterprise, was willing to invest in the first place.

NBL boss Larry Kestelman was open in saying the Derwent Entertainment Centre was not fit for the NBL before the redevelopment. Only after significant funding by the state government, including a $20 million four-court indoor multi-sport facility, has it got to NBL standard.

READ MORE: Netball Australia explains expansion plans

Much like the DEC, Launceston just needs someone with the right vision.

Former Tasmanian premier Jim Bacon used to say that football should be played in the North and cricket should be housed in the South and that holds true if the history is anything to go off.

It's not like there is a lack of interest in national sport in the North.

UTAS Stadium's average AFL attendance (14,964) trumps the Bellerive Oval average attendance (10,652), albeit Launceston has hosted more games.

Tasmania was lucky enough to host a record 12 regular-season games, plus the two finals, and Launcestonians showed their support in droves.

Despite the turnout, a potential AFL team would still likely be based out of the capital and share games with Launceston.

The AFL taskforce previously recommended that Launceston be the go-to site for blockbuster fixtures - along the lines of the soldout Hawthorn and Essendon game earlier this season - while Hobart builds a purpose-built facility.

However, if the AFL does not want to fully embrace Launceston, other codes could be the golden ticket.

Tasmania seems to be targeting a team in the Suncorp Super Netball league in time for the 2023 season, while a WNBL franchise is being explored for a similar timeframe.

Netball Tasmania is keen on Hobart as the potential team's base, similar to the JackJumpers in the NBL, but there is no reason with the right development and planning, Launceston could be that base.

Earlier this year, the City of Launceston council endorsed plans to push for a $208 million redevelopment of UTAS Stadium.

Part of that development included a $99 million facility that will have three courts for basketball and netball among other indoor sports and events.

With an estimated capacity of 5000, the proposed facility would be on par with the DEC for sporting capacity and in the conversation as one of the best sporting facilities in the state.

"If we are serious about taking basketball in Tasmania to the national stage - both men's and women's - we need very good court facilities in the North," Launceston Tornadoes chairman Neil Grose said earlier this year.

"The JackJumpers men are in the South, but let's roll forward hopefully to a time when we've got a JackJumpers women's team in the WNBL - it would be ideal for that to be based in the North and if we've got court facilities like this, that's the logical place."

While some organisations seem to have qualms about the standard of the Silverdome, that should be the cue to think about building something new and improved rather than an impassable roadblock.

After all, in the simplest of terms, it is hardly surprising that a stadium built in 1984 doesn't quite match construction expectations after almost four decades.

If anyone saw the way the Launceston Tornadoes are supported and the atmosphere of the Northern Hawks and Cavaliers grand final, it makes you think of what is possible.

There is a strong netball culture to this part of the state which has witnessed Northern dominance from the Hawks and Cavaliers which has culminated in three grand finals between the sides.

While dominance in sport can be cyclical, the evident passion that emanated quarter after quarter in the Tasmanian Netball League grand final this year shows the support is unlikely to waver.

A team with the size and profile of the SSN or WNBL would be the perfect case study as to whether Launceston would embrace a sporting team in practice rather than in theory.

Launceston deserves a team which it can fully embrace as being part of the fabric of the region.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: