AFL’s $12m Gabba grand final

The AFL will recoup as much as $12m in ticket sales from a Gabba grand final, expected to be announced on Wednesday.

Geelong star Gary Ablett arrives on the Gold Coast with wife Jordan and son Levi Picture Glenn Hampson

The AFL will recoup as much as $12m in ticket sales from a Gabba grand final, expected to be announced by the AFL on the Gold Coast on Wednesday.

The AFL Commission has settled on the venue for the October 24 decider, but as AFL boss Gillon McLachlan boarded a plane north on Tuesday he kept that cabinet confidentiality intact.

News Corp reported on Tuesday that Queensland would be rewarded for its role in saving the season and its potential to create a legacy for football in the expansion state.

Three flights bound for the Gold Coast left Tullamarine on Tuesday, carrying AFL and club officials, a smattering of players and their families and a contingent of football journalists. The flights also carried the premiership cup, the Brownlow Medal, Brownlow votes and the Norm Smith Medal. There are now more than 2000 people associated with the game in Queensland.

Geelong superstar Gary Ablett flew on the 3pm flight, with wife Jordan and 19-month-old son Levi. Premiership Tiger Shane Edwards and Saints midfielder Dan Hannebery also made the trip.

Saints assistant coach Jarryd Roughead flew north with wife Sarah, daughter Pippa and new born son Will.

Jarryd Roughhead with his wife Sarah and daughter Pippa, and new baby William. Picture: Alex Coppel

Before the decision to award the grand final to Brisbane could be announced, the league was late on Tuesday negotiating an official agreement with Victoria to move the contest from the MCG.

That will involve a concession to extend the MCG deal to host the grand final past its 2057 contract, with the government wanting two extra years and some added football content in regional centres.

Queensland’s bid chairman Tony Cochrane said on Tuesday night he was still awaiting a decision but was optimistic. “We have heard nothing from the Commission today,” he said.

McLachlan was one of the last to check in for the final flight.

He said the recommendation had been accepted by the commission but some issues needed to be resolved before an announcement from the league‘s transition hub. “There is a recommendation to the commission that’s been accepted,” McLachlan said. “But there’s stuff we’re working through clearly today with the Victorian government and the relevant bodies and hopefully we get there.

“We’re looking forward to completing it tonight or in the morning and making an announcement tomorrow.”

The Queensland bid will see the AFL recouping that $12m fee through a 30,000-seat capacity at an average of $400 a ticket.

It is understood the Queensland government is prepared to offset many of the AFL’s normal costs including staffing, security, pre-game entertainment and transport costs.

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The Queensland pitch was for a pre-game entertainment extravaganza leading into a game that would be a true night match in Melbourne. With Melbourne and Sydney having adopted daylight savings by late October, the Queensland bid would fixture the game to ensure it was played at the optimal time for the AFL.

Collingwood president Eddie McGuire said he believed the league had “been fantastic in the way they’ve worked it out as best they possibly can”.

“Trying to get the balance between commerciality and doing the right thing by the game … in this situation, the decision will be made by the commission, but there’s a balance there,” he said.

“Is the future of the game in Brisbane for example … going to be better than a cheque today to get us through hard times?

“We’ve got full trust in the AFL Commission to come up with the right decision.”

AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan and his family leave on the last flight. Picture: Alex Coppel

Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula said the location of the 2020 grand final was most likely to be announced on Wednesday.

He said the AFL had not yet informed the Andrews Government where the game would be played but that once a decision was made discussions would begin to alter the current contract keeping the event at the MCG in the long term.

“A contract extension is one of the things that has been talked about in the public domain but there might be other things we can talk to the AFL about,” he said.

“It may well be that by the time the grand final is played our case numbers here in Victoria are extremely low. Unfortunately we can’t wait until late October. We’ve had conversations about a range of things, including the question of what might be in the best long-term benefit of the growth of the game. But ultimately that’s a decision for the AFL.”

Herald Sun