With Victoria in lockdown and it appearing likely that the MCG will not stage the AFL Grand Final for the first time in its history, NSW, Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia are each looking to host what is generally considered the largest event in Australian sport.
With the AFL expected to announce next week how and where its showcase Grand Final and finals series will be staged, the Governments of each of the four states are each looking to stage the event.
With the majority of the AFL’s post lockdown games having been held in Queensland, the state’s success in handling the Coronavirus appears likely to favour the Grand Final being held at Brisbane’s Gabba.
With venues in Queensland having been central to the season’s resumption - adapting its restrictions to allow teams to travel in and out with regularity, accommodating teams in resort hubs and providing a unique level of flexibility – the state has done more than any other to ensure the AFL season's safe completion.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has also expressed her desire for Brisbane to host the Grand Final, emphasising Queensland is "ready, willing and able" to host the game.
However, by late October Brisbane will be hot and humid while a socially distanced crowd would see the game go ahead in front of a likely maximum of 20,000 fans.
By contrast, with Perth’s Optus Stadium now acknowledged as the best place in the country to watch AFL, the Western Australian Government is keen to attract the games.

While Optus Stadium is currently capped at 50% of its 60,000 capacity, Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has suggested that crowd restrictions could be eased as of 24th October - the likely date for the Grand Final.
It has also been reported that Premier McGowan has offered as much as $35 million for hosting rights, or $50 million for the entire finals series.
In an additional drawcard for the league, staging an afternoon decider in Perth would still allow the game to be broadcast during prime time for East Coast audiences given the time difference.
Like Western Australia, South Australia has the Coronavirus situation and Premier Stephen Marshall has offered the Adelaide Oval - able to offer the largest attendance in the country - for the match.
By October the Adelaide Oval’s hew 138-room hotel is set to be operational. Integrated into the eastern facade of the stadium, which would offer players and staff unprecedented ease of access to the venue.
NSW’s credentials of host the Grand Final rest on the capacity of Sydney’s ANZ Stadium, which can hold 83,500 fans if allowed by the NSW Government.
However, despite NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro’s statement to the Sydney Morning Herald that AFL’s “safest bet” would be to hold the game in Sydney, the re-emergence of COVID-19 cases in many parts of Sydney make it an unlikely choice.
Images: The Gabba (top) and Optus Stadium (below) hosting AFL.
About the author
Karen Sweaney
Co-founder and Editor, Australasian Leisure Management
Artist, geoscientist and specialist writer on the leisure industry, Karen Sweaney is Editor and co-founder of Australasian Leisure Management.
Based in Sydney, Australia, her specific areas of interest include the arts, entertainment, the environment, fitness, tourism and wellness.
She has degrees in Fine Arts from the University of Sydney and Geological Oceanography from UNSW.
Read more from this author
Related Articles
25th August 2020 - AFL restructuring sees integration of management at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium
24th August 2020 - Decline in income forces AFL to restructure operations with 20% of staff to be cut
21st August 2020 - AFL will not use Aboriginal flag during Indigenous Round
12th August 2020 - AFL heads to Alice Springs and Cairns
6th August 2020 - United Services Union warns AFL of breaching Fair Work Act with unlawful directive to staff
23rd July 2020 - AFL and NRL show year-on-year value gains
15th July 2020 - AFL looks to relocate more clubs to Queensland
13th July 2020 - Optus Stadium prepares for AFL fixtures this week
3rd July 2020 - AFL’s Victorian teams to move interstate
30th June 2020 - AFL faces fixture upheaval as Victorian Coronavirus cases rise
25th June 2020 - Victorian fans to be prevented from attending NRL and AFL games in NSW
12th June 2020 - Seven Network to save $87 million with new AFL broadcast deal
12th June 2020 - Work underway on upgrades at Brisbane’s Gabba
9th June 2020 - AFL season restart to see 2,000 fans at Adelaide Oval on Saturday
9th June 2020 - Quayclean to ensure health of venue attendees when AFL season re-starts
28th May 2020 - MCG ready to offer transformed turf for AFL return
18th May 2020 - AFL to proceed with upgrade plan for Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium
15th May 2020 - AFL announces that season will restart from 11th June
13th May 2020 - AFL announces protocols for return to training and play
11th May 2020 - Victorian Government clears AFL clubs to train in groups of 10 from Wednesday
3rd June 2019 - Queensland Government commits $35 million to the Gabba, secures first Ashes test of 2021
2nd August 2018 - Suncorp Stadium and The Gabba to install facial recognition security cameras
25th May 2018 - Secret Gabba renovation plans leaked to media
Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?
As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.