South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said while Gather Round exceeded expectations in its first year, improvements could be made for future seasons regarding ticketing arrangements.
“I think the double-header concept can work, but it needs work to make that happen,” Malinauskas said on Monday.
Fans arrive at Adelaide Oval for the opening match of Gather Round between the Crows and the Blues.Credit: AFL Photos
“I think there was a lot of upside to the double-header. I mean, one ticket, two great games, you beauty – but the problem is that on Saturday a lot of Essendon [and] Melbourne supporters watched their game and then went into town and spent money, which is great, but it meant Port [Adelaide] and Western Bulldogs supporters might have missed out on a ticket.”
The Premier added he would like to see the double-header concept remain, but the government and AFL need to find an innovative ticketing model around it.
“We’ve had double-headers in years gone by, but with different problems, not around sell-outs. So, there is going to have to be some innovation around the ticketing model.”
Over the weekend, the Premier’s office negotiated with the AFL to host Gather Round in South Australia for the next three seasons.
With more time to prepare for the upcoming rounds, Malinauskas said he would love to see a regional game, particularly in the Barossa Valley, that would require “significant capital” to achieve.
Gillion McLachlan addresses the media at Adelaide Oval for Gather Round.Credit: AFL Photos
“If the Barossa is going to have a game – and I would love to see that, I’m on the record as wanting that for some time – it is going to take a significant expenditure of capital,” said Malinauskas.
“We have to work through what that looks like, and we have to partner with local government and potentially the AFL.”
The Adelaide Economic Development Agency provided the early figure of $85.8 million in economic impact of the round but said on Monday this was a conservative figure based on early ticket sales information of 200,000 tickets sold and 50,000 interstate visitor figures.
The Premier’s office said it is commissioning an independent piece of work to examine the economic benefit of the major event.
The South Australian Tourism Commission said Adelaide Airport had its busiest four days since before the pandemic, with 115,000 passengers passing through its gates and 35 extra flights into Adelaide than the previous week.
Adelaide hotels also had record bookings, according to the commission, with data ahead of the weekend showing more rooms were booked over the Friday and Saturday than for any other weekend at 91 and 92 per cent respectively.
Minister for Tourism Zoe Bettison said the huge local and interstate demand for the weekend resulted in the state’s tourism and hospitality industries reaping the rewards of the round.
“There was a real buzz in the city and surrounds, there were fans in their footy colours filling up hospitality venues and there was a real festival atmosphere,” Bettison said.
“It was a footy weekend like no other we had experienced in our nation’s history – so it was only fitting that it drove hotel bookings in Adelaide to a record-high like never before and saw Adelaide Airport experience its busiest four days since before the pandemic.
“There is an immense feeling of pride in SA this week.”
The AFL deemed the round an “overwhelming success” with all nine games deemed a sell-out, with 258,000 in attendance, including 80,000 at the free footy festival.
More than 60,000 fans purchased tickets from interstate, including 20,000 from Victoria.
The AFL added as part of the three-year deal, both the AFL and SA government have also committed to establishing a community football legacy fund, which will benefit local footy clubs in the state beyond the weekend of matches.
AFL CEO Gil McLachlan said the community football engagement has been some of the best days and events the AFL has ever delivered and hopes locking in the fixture dates of the round with more notice will give fans time to prepare for it.
“It has been a success because everyone in football got behind the idea, clubs, players, corporate partners and most importantly our fans, to deliver an extraordinary few days,” said McLachlan.
“The reality is we only had a few months to pull this together, and we hope by locking it in now we are giving everyone a longer runway to put together a bigger and even better event, and our fans certainty around booking travel and accommodation.”
