General public tickets to AFL grand final sold out in a flash

Footy fans in Western Australia wasted no time snapping up tickets to the AFL grand final, as a record amount of people waited online.

General public tickets for the 2021 AFL Grand Final sold out in record time. Picture: Michael Willson / AFL Photos

Anticipation for the 2021 AFL Grand Final is at fever pitch, with the general public allocation for the big game selling out in under 10 minutes.

With the grand final being played at Optus Stadium for the first time in the competition’s history, general public tickets were made available to give footy fans in Perth a chance to watch the big occasion in their own backyard.

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Members of the Western Bulldogs and Melbourne snapped up their allocations of 12,000 tickets each earlier this week, and 10,250 tickets for the general public were made available on Thursday.

Tickets sold out in a flash, with the online queue on Ticketmaster peaking at 180,000 fans.

The queue was five times bigger than the one for the 2020 grand final, held at The Gabba in Brisbane.

AFL executive general manager of customer and commercial Kylie Rogers paid tribute to the passionate footy fans of Western Australia as Optus Stadium prepares for a full house.

The general public allocation for the 2021 AFL Grand Final sold out in under 10 minutes. Picture: Ian Hitchcock / AFL Photos via Getty Images

“The interest for the 2021 Toyota AFL Grand Final in Perth has been unprecedented,” Rogers said.

“The fans in WA have wholeheartedly welcomed the AFL and welcomed the event.

“Today’s on-sale and record breaking number of fans wanting to purchase tickets demonstrates the WA community’s excitement for the first ever grand final in the state.”

The general public tickets cost fans $185 each, but for anyone who snapped up a ticket in the hopes of reselling at a higher price, it’s bad news.

The WA government passed anti-scalping legislation last week, and posed fines of $20,000 for anyone attempting to re-sell their tickets and $100,000 for companies.

The decider will be contested between Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs, after both teams enjoyed emphatic victories in their preliminary finals over Geelong and Port Adelaide respectively.

The grand final takes place on Saturday, September 25.