The league's incoming chief executive Andrew Dillon also says there will be no negotiations on the location or specifications of the 23,000-seat roofed stadium planned for Macquarie Point.
Tasmania was granted the competition's 19th licence in May for an expected 2028 start, with the approval contingent on the construction of the stadium.
The project has a completion date of 2029, with the AFL previously indicating it wants the stadium ready by no later than the team's second season.
The team would initially play Hobart fixtures at Bellerive Oval.
"For the economics ... and the ability to attract and retain players, it is really important to have that stadium," Mr Dillon told a state parliamentary inquiry examining stadium planning on Friday.
"If it looked like the stadium was going to be pushed back or delayed, we would then delay the start of the team to link in with that."
The stadium is backed by the state Liberal government, but opposed by state Labor and the Greens as well as thousands who protested in May.
It has caused political turmoil for the Liberal government, which was plunged into minority last month when two MPs who cited concerns about the stadium and AFL deal quit the party.
The stadium proposal must first be voted through both houses of state parliament before it is assessed by Tasmania's planning commission.
"It's a stadium, 23,000 seats, roofed at Macquarie Point - that's the approval given by the AFL commission and the AFL clubs," Mr Dillon said.
"If we don't have that stadium, then the licence conditions aren't reached, so we don't have a team.
"We're not in a position to renegotiate."
Mr Dillon said securing funding for a new stadium in Hobart was one of 11 "work streams" identified in December 2021 as part of the licence process.
"It was a precondition to bring the application for the licence to the commission and the 18 AFL clubs," he said.
In March 2022, then-Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein announced his desire for a stadium at Regatta Point in Hobart.
Macquarie Point was chosen as the location in September 2022.
In August 2022, Premier Jeremy Rockliff said a new stadium wasn't part of Tasmania's formal bid but the infrastructure remained an "important part" of the state's quest for a team.
The government is contributing $375m towards the stadium, the federal government $240m and the AFL $15m.
The federal government has described its funding contribution as helping to unlock the potential of the Macquarie Point precinct, which will include housing.
Mr Dillon said it was his expectation the $240m would all be spent on the stadium.
Tasmania's government will have to pay $4.5 million if the stadium isn't ready for the team's second season and also carry any project cost overruns.
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