The AFL world is set to gather in South Australia for “Gather Round,” scheduled to begin today. Around 70,000 ticket holders are traveling to the ‘city of churches’ to attend games that will be held exclusively in Adelaide and surrounding areas from April 4 – April 7, with the first match kicking off tonight. For those not attending the footy or unable to get a ticket, there will be free events throughout the four days, including the Maccas Footy Festival, Gather Live, and The Pepsi Collective.
The “Gather Round” concept was introduced last year, with a deal for the round to stay until the end of 2026. SA Premier Peter Malinauskas was thrilled to learn that about 70,000 tickets were purchased by fans from interstate. “Gather Round is expected to boost the South Australian economy, as last year the Government claimed that Gather Round produced $83 million in economic activity. “The most beautiful thing about that, of course, is the significant contribution from interstate visitors to our local economy,” Malinauskas said. “Above all else, I hope that people from interstate have a good time.”
Gather Round Fixture:
- Melbourne v Adelaide Crows – Adelaide Oval, Thursday, 7.40 PM GMT+11
- Brisbane Lions v North Melbourne – Norwood Oval, Friday, 5.10 PM GMT+11
- Port Adelaide v Essendon – Adelaide Oval, Friday, 8.10 PM GMT+11
- West Coast v Sydney Swans – Adelaide Hills, Saturday, 1.30 PM GMT+11
- Fremantle v Carlton – Adelaide Oval, Saturday, 4.20 PM GMT+11
- Western Bulldogs v Geelong – Adelaide Oval, Saturday, 8.10 PM GMT+11
- Gold Coast Suns v GWS – Adelaide Hills, Sunday, 12.30 PM GMT+11
- Richmond v St Kilda – Norwood Oval, Sunday, 3.30 PM GMT+11
- Collingwood v Hawthorn – Adelaide Oval, Sunday, 5.10 PM GMT+11
Looking ahead, AFL CEO Andrew Dillon shared, “What you’ll see over the next couple of years is looking for different venues and seeking innovation to continue to grow what’s a really successful and great concept.” To conclude this year’s Gather Round, the rock band Jet and the Aussie rapper Baker Boy will perform at Oval No 2 adjacent to Adelaide Oval after the Hawks v Pies game on Sunday afternoon.
Featured Image Adelaide Oval. Photo. Trentino Priori– https://web.archive.org/web/20161102173254/http://www.panoramio.com/photo/110758814/C/C WikimediaCommons- Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
