Port Adelaide to play Gold Coast again in Shanghai in May

PORT Adelaide’s game in China is confirmed for May - and against Gold Coast again.

Port Adelaide’s second premiership match in China is a confirmed feature of the 2018 AFL fixture. The Power will play Gold Coast at Shanghai on May 19.

PORT Adelaide’s AFL game in China - against Gold Coast in Shanghai - is to be played on May 19 as a Saturday afternoon match.

The AFL confirmed the timing of the Round 9 event at Jiangwan Stadium — which will be renamed Adelaide Arena as part of the SA Government’s sponsorship of the game — with an announcement in Adelaide on Tuesday with the State Premier Jay Weatherill.

Port Adelaide’s major backer in China, Shanghai Cred real estate tycoon Gui Guojie, also took a key part in the presentation on Adelaide’s Montefiore Hill above Adelaide Oval.

This will be the second Power-Suns game in Shanghai where Port Adelaide is determined to put on an AFL match for premiership points for at least the next 10 years.

The announcement precedes the official release of the 2018 AFL premiership-season fixture next Tuesday.

It also follows another successful trip to Shanghai by Port Adelaide and AFL executives last week where Power chief executive Keith Thomas and AFL representative Dave Stevenson met with local government authorities to ease security restrictions at Jiangwan Stadium.

Thomas says there still will not be drinking allowed in the seats. But the Power is aiming to provide more shade for fans and better food options after taking fan feedback from last year’s inaugural match.

Port Adelaide also wants to increase ticketing for the match from 10,000 to 13,000.

The long-running battle between the Power and Gold Coast on the jumpers worn by the teams is finished. Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas is no longer concerned with the Suns wearing their home red jumper than correlates with the Chinese national colours of red and yellow.

“When we first looked at China in 2017, we were concerned about the (Gold Coast) guernsey and how it fits with the national colours of China,” Thomas said.

“It is no longer a big deal to us. It is not a factor in our discussions (with Gold Coast). Gold Coast can wear its home guernsey. That is up to them. It is not an issue for us.”

Gold Coast chief executive Mark Evans noted the red Suns jumper was not “important on the field or off it” during this year’s game that was won by the Power by 72 points.

“Your colours are your colours; your jumper is your jumper,” Evans said in Adelaide. “But it is not a worry (in the presentation of the game in China). And Gold Coast will pull more weight this time,” added Evans, noting the Suns were ill-prepared on and off the field this year for the Shanghai game.

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