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Saturday’s staging of the code’s Grand Final is reported to have generated up to $40 million in income from ticket sales, corporate hospitality and catering revenue.

A record crowd of 61,118 packed into Perth’s Optus Stadium and 6 million TV viewers tuned in to see the Melbourne Demons win their first flag in 57 years.

Among the crowd, fans accounted for 36,000 seats while sponsors, stakeholders and hospitality packages accounted for the remaining 24,000 tickets.

According to The West Australian, sources revealed that demand was so high that premium seating could have been sold many times over.

The grand Final success comes after the AFL’s revenue dropped $119 million to $675 million in 2020 due to COVID restrictions which limited crowds and the number of rounds played.

The Age has reported that the Demons have also benefitted financially, selling three years worth of merchandise in the last month with the club set to benefit from a windfall that will put them in the top bracket of financially secure clubs.

Melbourne sold $2.7 million worth of merchandise alone in the last four weeks with $1.2 million of it sold in the days after the Grand Final alone, which according to Chief Executive Gary Pert was equivalent to three years worth of regular sales.

Pert told The Age “we have done three years of merchandise in a month before the Grand Final. That is without considering family days you would normally have in Melbourne after A Grand Final.

“Those sort of numbers for a club like Melbourne are just extraordinary.”

Commenting on the success of Perth’s staging of the game, 6PR broadcaster Oliver Peterson stated that it shows the city can host “hallmark fixtures” in the future.

Peterson advised “there is an opportunity for some hallmark fixtures to come to Perth.

“I know we’re parochial but we put on a brilliant show on Saturday night.”

Meanwhile, Arthur Stanley, General Manager Media and Communications for Optus Stadium operator VenuesLive, wrote “congratulations to the #VenuesLive WA team who delivered this spectacular event in seamless fashion despite the challenges of our times.”

Image: Perth's Optus Stadium stages Saturday's AFL Grand Final. Credit: VenuesLive/Arthur Stanley.

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