Power fans sell out Adelaide Oval in less than two hours, as Port prepares for preliminary final against the Western Bulldogs

Want to attend the Port Adelaide v Western Bulldogs preliminary final at the Adelaide Oval and haven’t got your ticket yet? Good luck.

Lifelong Port fans Briony Smith and daughter Ayrlie nabbed themselves tickets to Port Adelaide’s preliminary final against the Western Bulldogs at Adelaide Oval on Saturday night. Picture: Emma Brasier

It took just shy of two hours for Port Adelaide fans to sell out this Saturday night’s blockbuster preliminary final at Adelaide Oval against the Western Bulldogs.

When the 26,500 tickets went on sale through Ticketek at noon on Monday, there were already more than 9000 Power members waiting in the online queue and by 2pm all the tickets were sold, with many fans missing out.

Among the lucky supporters to snap up a ticket was lifelong Port supporter Briony Smith who managed to snare three tickets to the prelim for herself, husband Troy and daughter Ayrlie, 16.

But booking the tickets wasn’t entirely a stress-less process, with a number of technical glitches meaning it took a good 30 minutes to secure the three seats.

It was nothing but pure joy when the ticket confirmation came through.

“We were all jumping around the lounge room, we are super excited,” the North Haven resident said.

“We go every week … we were born into being Port supporters.”

Such is the devotion to the black, white and teal, the Smith family has already booked in a trip to Perth in a fortnight’s time and regardless of whether Port book an AFL Grand Final appearance for September 25 with a win over the Bulldogs, they will head west.

“We actually booked Melbourne back in March, I just had confidence for the year and obviously as it got closer and it looked like nothing was happening in Melbourne, we cancelled that and we booked Perth about two weeks ago … either way we’re going to Perth, but it would be amazing if our team could be there,” she said.

Lifelong Port Adelaide supporters Briony Smith and daughter Ayrlie, 16, nabbed themselves tickets to the Power’s preliminary final on Saturday night. Picture: Emma Brasier

Adelaide Oval’s Stadium Management Authority’s chief operating officer Adam Vonthethoff said the venue was primed for a big Saturday night blockbuster.

“We can’t wait to hear the roar of the Port Adelaide home crowd at Saturday’s preliminary final against the Bulldogs,” he said.

“We know how loud this place can be, even when we’re not at full capacity.

“It should be a great atmosphere and our team is looking forward to being a part of it.”

Last week, SA’s Health authorities and the ground’s management agreed to lift Adelaide Oval’s capacity from 20,000 to 26,500 – or 50 per cent – for the big game.

Port Adelaide chief executive Matthew Richardson said the club appreciated many members who had access to buy tickets to the game unfortunately missed out.

“Incredible demand combined with reduced capacity due to Covid has made securing a ticket challenging for many and we are disappointed for them,” he said.

“We are grateful to SA Health and Adelaide Oval management for working together to increase capacity to 50 per cent capacity for this game.”

Richardson said if any further tickets became available as a result of unused allocations, they will be released via Ticketek on Thursday at 2pm.

Mrs Smith, whose favourite player is the club’s all-time games record holder Travis Boak, said the four-quarter effort of the Power in the latter half of the 2021 season was the difference between this year’s side and the team that narrowly missed the 2020 Grand Final.

“They look amazing this year. I thought they were good last year, but this year I’m quietly confident,” she said.

Originally published as Power fans sell out Adelaide Oval in less than two hours, as Port prepares for preliminary final against the Western Bulldogs