The AFL’s magic round is bound for South Australia after the league accepted the state government’s enthusiastic bid to host the inaugural event.
The location for the extra round, a scheduling change which means each team will play 23 games over 24 rounds in 2023, will be announced no later than Friday.
It will add at least $500,000 to each club’s coffers with some of that money to be used to boost the soft cap on football departments while players, who have agreed to play the extra game, will also receive a slice of the revenue generated. It remains unclear whether the players will be paid from club coffers or the AFL will provide the additional income.
“Magic round” is a concept based on an NRL idea where all 18 clubs travel to the one state to play a round of football, attracting supporters of all clubs to the state and generating tourism dollars while also celebrating the game with a range of events surrounding matches.
Adelaide Oval will be the centrepiece of the Magic Round when it is launched in 2023. Credit:Getty
The AFL’s decision to hold a magic round, which The Age revealed during grand final week, was initially motivated by a desire to showcase the game in expansion states with NSW considered the frontrunner when the concept was first put to clubs.
However, South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas put in a strong financial bid, which club sources said was upwards of $10 million, as well as convincing the AFL that the state’s football obsessed public would fill grandstands creating a strong initial impression of the round.
It remains unclear whether the deal will be for one or two seasons with the league keen to rotate the concept once it is embedded into the fixture with Victorian clubs keen on the concept because of the extra revenue it generates.
The GWS Giants and Sydney were keen to become involved in the magic round with the Giants endeavouring to generate crowds after disappointing attendances at their home games this season when they missed the finals for the first time since 2016.
With the AFL wanting the round to coincide with school holidays there were also going to be logistical difficulties relating to the Sydney Royal Easter Show being held at the showgrounds at that time.
In the proposed round Adelaide Oval could host six games over the magic round weekend with three games held at other venues. The central location of Adelaide Oval appealed as the ideal venue to launch the round.
The AFL raised the idea as an alternative to playing a meaningless practice match before the first round that was already being played at high intensity.
The league is also moving closer to finalising their fixture for 2023 with the grand final to be played on September 30 and two byes in the season with one of the byes being the pre-finals bye.
