North Melbourne Chairman James Brayshaw spoke with the club's media department regarding the club's decision to play two home games in Hobart from 2012.

Why has the club been so keen to play home games away from Melbourne?

Well, we must grow it's that simple. We must get more people watching us live, joining as members, watching on TV, buying jumpers and merchandise.

I sound like a broken record but it's that simple. If we just play games at Etihad, we will find it very hard to engage new supporters in any significant number. New markets are vital to attract new fans and we need them.

Hobart is a magnificent city with 250 thousand AFL fans desperate to see football live in their backyard. I think every North Melbourne person should see this as a really exciting step forward for the club.

Is this deal happening as a result of the club’s poor financial situation and if so, where are we at?

As one of the ‘smaller’ revenue or turn-over clubs in the AFL, we face challenges the bigger clubs don't face and that is a fact. But my philosophy on football is simple; AFL clubs are not-for-profit organisations that exist to put an elite football team on the park 30 weeks a year.

So as long as we have enough revenue to do that properly and professionally while securing the long-term future of the club, that’s what we are here to do.

Brad Scott has consistently stated our players and coaches have everything they need to succeed including a world class state-of-the-art facility.

Our challenge is continuing to generate enough money to give them everything they need going forward so they can deliver what we all crave...our fifth flag.

Our revenue sits at around 26 million and I reckon we need to get it up towards 30 million to achieve this objective. That is one of the reasons why growing a second market is so important.

Why did it take so long to come through?

It took so long because funding for football matches at new venues isn't easy to find. The Tasmanian government already makes a large financial contribution to football in the north of the state and they have other challenges they must address. So with this Hobart model, funding was harder to come by.

The local government, local businesses, Cricket Tasmania, the Chamber of Commerce and the Spirit of Tasmania have done an amazing job with the Tasmanian Government and the AFL in getting this funding secured. I congratulate them and am certainly not critical of the time it took.

What about the Melbourne-based supporters? Will they be disadvantaged in any way?

I have said all along that our Melbourne based members will have access to 11 games regardless of what happens in Tasmania and that remains the case.

North Melbourne members will be able to purchase an 11 game ticket and they will see more games against Melbourne teams, because we will be buying into games, which will be an additional bonus.

I also know North fans will love getting on the Spirit of Tasmania or taking a flight to come and watch us play in Hobart. It’s a great place to visit anyway and there is no better reason to go than to see a Kangaroos game.

Standing on Bellerive Oval yesterday I can tell you, there is no better vantage point at any other ground. You are literally on top of the action with the seats so close to the boundary.

There’s the inevitable talk about relocation. What do you say to those who will claim this is just a pre-cursor to Tasmania getting its own team?

We don't want to relocate anywhere and we don't need to relocate anywhere. As long as I am the Chairman of this club, we won't be relocating anywhere.

That’s always a simple question to answer for me.

The club has been down similar paths before with respect to playing home-games interstate. Why will this venture be any different?

I can't comment on what's happened before because I wasn’t at the club back then but what I can say is that we must invest strongly in Hobart by engaging all the people down there, especially the kids.

It will take some time getting around to all the schools and clubs we know that, but the more kids who are tugging on their dads coat saying 'I want to go and watch the Kangas play', the happier we will be.

We also want kids in the south of Tassie playing footy for thousands of reasons and if we can help make that happen, it'll be a great result.

We see this as a long-term partnership and the sooner we start it the better.

What about Ballarat?

I have consistently stated that the idea of AFL football being played in regional Victoria is a good one. There is a great distinction between where you are based and where you play. Our home is Aegis Park and that won't change, but if we have to take football matches to different places to continue to grow and engage new fans then let’s not be afraid of breaking new ground I say.

Our partnership with the City of Ballarat is a strong one. Our VFL alliance with the Roosters is great and the city looks after us when we travel there for community camps and school visits.

This is a partnership that will only get stronger and we will continue the push to play games in Ballarat and I urge the people in the region to continue to do the same.