[1] North Melbourne has been a regular target of these offers due to financial and on-field pressures throughout the latter 20th and 21st century, and as such has been involved in interstate relocation or merger proposals similar to that of the Sydney Swans in 1982 or the Brisbane Lions in 1996.
[5] In 1999 the club dropped the name North Melbourne in its branding to become The Kangaroos in an effort to appeal to interstate markets (at the time, Sydney and Canberra).
The move was to prove lucrative with the AFL and North Melbourne gaining ACT government backing to play home games at Canberra's Manuka Oval from 2002.
The government backed the deal in the hope that the club would eventually commit long term to the region and for a time, the team playing in the territory were promoted locally as the "Canberra Kangaroos".
In 1999 the AFL, buoyed by the success of the relocated Swans 1996 Grand Final appearance, sought to make North Melbourne Sydney's second team.
The Sydney Swans, having worked for decades to build a following in the city, were fiercely against the move and set out to assert the club's dominance over the market and the SCG.
[11] On 2 December 2007, media reports from The Age stipulated that the AFL had garnered support from 75% of the Kangaroos Board to move the club to the Gold Coast.
Shortly after, Rick Aylett quit as CEO of the club, citing personal reasons and an inability to work with a board which was split on the issue of relocation to the Gold Coast.
[15] On 8 December news of a new major sponsorship deal broke, suggesting Vodafone will put up to A$2 million into the club over the next 2 years for primary naming rights.
[16] In 2010, the AFL assisted the club to set up a base in the city of Ballarat, Victoria west of Melbourne, with a deal to play home games there.
[20] In 2012, redevelopment of Eureka Stadium became a major local issue for the 2014 Victorian state election creating uncertainty over the AFL's future in the market.
Just a few years after its foray into Ballarat, the Western Bulldogs muscled in with a better long-term deal for the city including a package of premiership season home games[22] and North ended its bid to establish a base there.
This was unpopular among local fans, harming the popularity of the club, and the season proved to be a disappointment on-field, with the Devils finishing ninth and missing the finals, ultimately going into recess at the end of 2008.
However, following the COVID-19 pandemic and Tasmania's (ultimately successful) 2021 AFL bid, the club's home attendances dropped as low as 5,000 as its on-field performance continued to slide.
[24] In 2017, the North Melbourne women's team's name and guernsey for home games was rebranded the "Tassie Kangaroos", however the move widespread criticism from cynical Tasmanian fans that the club was more fly-in fly-out as opposed to being committed to Tasmania long-term.
The club was further aligned with Tasmania with the appointment of Tasmanians in president Ben Buckley (2016) and senior coach David Noble (2021), both having represented the state.
We are invested in staying at Arden Street and looking forward to being an active participant with the Victorian government and the City of Melbourne in the exciting development going on in this precinct.