AFL makes historic Grand Final announcement with the Gabba to host the 2020 decider

Eddie McGuire says 'the world has changed' and the AFL Grand Final should be played at night every year, but Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett has cautioned against rushing into a decider under lights at the MCG next year. See the latest.

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett says the AFL should “wait and see” before committing to a night Grand Final next year.

 

For the first time the league will play the premiership decider under lights at the Gabba on Saturday, October 24.

It will please broadcasters, who have long called on the AFL to move the biggest game of the season to a spectacular night time event.

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said the AFL's showpiece event needed to become a permanent fixture in prime time wanted to ensure it could be the “biggest event it can possibly be”.

“If you want to take it into the next stage of having serious enter

tainment and making it the biggest event it can possibly be at a time when ratings are everything - as far as the money we’re seeing for the first time ever the TV rights going backwards in major sports - then you have got to play it in prime time, it’s as simple as that.

“It’s not whether it’s day time or night time, it’s where you get the most people."

But Kennett said it was too early for the AFL to make a decision on whether a night time Grand Final should become permanent.

“We have to give it more thought before it comes back to Melbourne,” Kennett said.

“We’ll see how it goes up there in Brisbane and wait and see what happens.”

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AFL chief executive Gill McLachlan pledged on Thursday to make this year’s Grand Final a predominantly “non-corporate” event.

McLachlan said members of the competing clubs would likely comprise at least 25,000 of the 31,000 permitted to attend.

It comes as McLachlan foreshadowed the likelihood of a Sunday night Brownlow Medal count with the Grand Final players beaming “virtually” into the event.

McGuire predicted this year’s night Grand Final would be a huge success.“It’s not going to be a test, it’s going to be a spectacular success, it’s going to be massive,” McGuire said.

“It will be massive. Like all major television shows and all major events, they don’t put them on Saturday afternoon, they put them on Saturday night, or Sunday night is where it should be, to be perfectly honest.”

McGuire said the on-field product would lose nothing by being staged at night.

“We play every major game every week of the season at night,” McGuire said.

“The biggest games are on Thursday, Friday and Saturday night."

About 30,000 fans will be at the AFL's first night Grand Final at the Gabba.

“It’s a night time product. Yes, it’s a sport, it’s footy, but this is where it’s at. This is the way consumers want to watch these days.

“Sometimes down the track, it might be Mr Amazon or Mr Netflix that we’re dealing with and they don’t care about what might have been or what is, they say this is what today is.

“The world is just changing exponentially and who knows what COVID-19 world we live in next year or the year after, but the way for us to make sure our game continues to grow is to put it in front of as many people in the best circumstances as you possibly can.”

McLachlan said the timeslot was “independent” to future years, but declared the experiment would deliver valuable feedback.

“Clearly people will have a look at it,” McLachlan said from the AFL’s quarantine hub on the Gold Coast.

“It won’t be so foreign (going forward), and you’ll get a chance to debate it on its merits afterwards.

“We’ll get a chance to look at some stuff, for sure.”

The MCG’s contract to host the Grand Final has been extended by one year, to 2058, as compensation for losing 2020.

The 'G will also be given additional home-and-away games in the next two years while Melbourne will host the next two national drafts.

It’s official. The Gabba will host the @AFL Grand Final on October 24 in front of a crowd of 30,000. @7NewsBrisbane pic.twitter.com/tot2HmO2ny

— Joel Dry (@JoelDry7) September 2, 2020

WHAT WILL A BRISBANE BROWNLOW LOOK LIKE?

AFL chief executive Gill McLachlan has pledged to make this year's historic Gabba Grand Final a predominantly "non-corporate" event, saying members of the competing clubs would likely comprise at least 25,000 of the 31,000 permitted to attend.

It comes as McLachlan foreshadowed the likelihood of a Sunday night Brownlow Medal count with the Grand Final players beaming "virtually" into the event.

A day after announcing the 2020 Grand Final would be played outside Victoria for the first time, he said the AFL would work closely with the Queensland Government and police officials to ensure there is no scalping of tickets for the October 24 match.

"There are 31,000 who are able to go ... it will be in the high 20's that will go to the non-corporates," McLachlan told SEN on Thursday. 

"We will prioritise members first and then with some public sales after that."There are a couple of scenarios where it is all taken up by members, but certainly we will be prioritising members and the public.

"We want our members and our supporters to get there and we are very much opposed to scalping.

"They (the anti-scalping laws) will certainly be worked through with the local government and the police force."

But McLachlan conceded it would be "challenging" for Victorian-based club members of the Grand Final sides to attend the Gabba match.

About 30,000 fans will be at the AFL's first night Grand Final at the Gabba.

"I don't want to provide false hope," he said on Triple M.

"If things change dramatically and look different in Victoria, then maybe it changes, but a lot of that is with our politicians (and what they) say about what is happening with our borders."

"We will do everything we can to get the prioritised members of the competing clubs - whoever makes it - but there are going to be challenges from some states."

McLachlan said the Brownlow Medal could be moved a day forward from its usual schedule, which could take place a day after the last of the preliminary finals."I think it will be that Sunday night," he said.

"There is a chance for the Monday night, but most likely it will be the Sunday night after the prelim finals.

"He said he remained "nervous" about the pathway to the finals, but had great faith in how his team had managed to get through the season so far amidst so many hurdles.

"Every day I am nervous ... There is risk every day and there is risk in this hub, so we are all being tested today," he said.

He said he was hoping to have a 2021 fixture out in "late October or early November", but conceded no one knows with any certainty what next year will look like.

"There is still uncertainty about next year .... the uncertainty is not lost on us."

WHEN IS THE GRAND FINAL?

The AFL Grand Final will take place on Saturday, October 24

VENUE

The Gabba, Brisbane

TIME

Night (TBC) 

What will the entertainment look like?

An all-Aussie line-up will rock the Gabba, and Gillon McLachlan has already seen an email with an early look at candidates. Can we get Mike Brady into quarantine in time to hear, ‘For there’s one day in October, the footy’s almost over’?

When do the finals start?

The AFL will release the format this week, with a night game on either Wednesday September 30 or Thursday October 1 set to launch the series.

Will all finals be in Queensland?

No, but most will. Port Adelaide can play at Adelaide Oval for the first three weeks while West Coast will probably be allowed to host a final at Optus Stadium in week one only. The AFL is also considering allowing Victorian clubs (and GWS) to play ‘home’ finals at their choice of venue, which could mean a final at Metricon Stadium or extra games at Adelaide Oval.

What is the crowd capacity at each ground during finals?

We won’t see a crowd bigger than 30,000-31,000 in October, which will be allowed at the Gabba for the Grand Final or Adelaide Oval if the game is moved there. Optus Stadium already permits crowds of 30,000. Current Queensland currently allows for 50 per cent crowds and further health protocols brings Metricon Stadium's current capacity down to about 8000.

Where and when is the Brownlow?

The Brownlow Medal will be a hybrid event that is likely to be staged in the traditional slot of the Monday night in Grand Final week. Players from clubs still in the premiership race will be unable to leave their hubs to attend but will dial in virtually. That will see TV cameras set up in multiple locations to capture the event. The medal and this year’s votes joined the premiership cup in the cargo transported from Melbourne to Queensland on Tuesday.

Recap the historic announcement in our live blog below. 

Originally published as AFL makes historic Grand Final announcement with the Gabba to host the 2020 decider

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