AFL sounds out South Australia as footy hub host

Quarantined Olympic-style villages for the footy industry would be set up in South Australia to restart the AFL season under a plan the league’s floated to Premier Steven Marshall.

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AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has written to Premier Steven Marshall to determine whether South Australia could be a hub to resume the football season.

In the letter, McLachlan has told Mr Marshall the AFL’s “current thinking is to establish quarantine zones, limit travel and reduce contact with the public by establishing an Olympic Village-style model.”

Mr Marshall told The Advertiser he had received the request but said it might not be the only option.

McLachlan’s plan for the 2020 AFL season to restart would:

Under the plan put forward by Mr McLachlan the AFL would

LOCATE all 18 AFL Clubs in one or two regions of Australia (Hub), with clubs split into various villages within that hub

EACH village would essentially consist of a hotel that is solely dedicated to the AFL industry to enable the control of external people entering, ideally based on extensive grounds such as a golf resort or winery – that allows personnel to move around more freely in a quarantined zone without public interaction

ALL AFL personnel travel to each Hub on chartered flights

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan. Picture: Darrian Traynor/Getty Images

In the letter Mr McLachlan has told Mr Marshall under the proposed hub model players and staff would only leave the village to play matches, train on approved ovals and attend specialist medical appointments.

Mr Marshall has consistently argued any decision on competitive sports would be guided by the health advice at the time.

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee is providing advice to National Cabinet and will next week offer more guidance on the road ahead for competitive sport in Australia.

Mr Marshall today asked the committee to consider the risk profiles of both a Hub model being proposed by the AFL and a more traditional home and away season.

“I think that we all miss AFL but we only have one shot at getting this right,” Mr Marshall told The Advertiser.

“Depending on when the season resumes we really need to get a better understanding of whether the risk is lower with a hub approach or with a conventional home and away season.

“If we are going to be bringing 600 people from one state, all having to stay at hotels, all having to self isolate, that has one level of risk to it.

“But taking 40 footballers in the plane directly to another state, playing their game and getting back on a plane back to their home state might have a similar sort of risk profile.”

Mr McLachlan said the AFL understands the important role in slowing the spread of the COVID-19 virus and that any return to play model must have a socially responsible approach that recognises and respects Government guidelines, the need to flatten the curve and reduce the impact on the Australian health system.

“The AFL is exploring all opportunities to recommence the 2020 Season,” he wrote.

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“We appreciate that the health and safety of our staff, players, fans and the wider community is paramount.

“We would therefore only return to play in accordance with advice from Government and medical experts.

“We also recognise the importance of working with Government to help our clubs, supporters, staff and football community emerge from this pandemic strong and recover, both financially and socially and to provide the nation with an outlet during a prolonged period of social distancing.”

The Advertiser understands SA is not the only state to be approached with the proposal.

Other regions that are up for consideration by the AFL include Darwin, Perth and the Swan Valley in WA, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Geelong, Southeast Queensland and Hobart and Launceston in Tasmania.

Most locations, including Adelaide will have challenges “to recommend some suitable properties at which to establish villages with approximately 600 rooms per night for eight weeks” as requested by Mr McLachlan.

Adelaide’s InterContinental, that overlooks Adelaide Oval, has 367 rooms.

The Pullman, in the CBD has 308 rooms.

Originally published as AFL sounds out South Australia as footy hub host