Gather Round: How Covid sent South Australia down a path to lucrative sporting investments

Investing in sport has made multiple state governments look silly, but South Australia is the exception. SHANNON GILL chats to Peter Malinauskas to find out how his state has made it work.

Whether it be Olympic Games buyer’s remorse, Commonwealth Games cancellations or stadium procrastination, governments are grappling with the same question: is sport really worth it?

In that context South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas, or the ‘Party Premier’ as he’s been dubbed, stands out.

Whether it be spruiking this week’s AFL Gather Round or the coming LIV Golf event, to use the phrase of an old Prime Minister, Malinauskas is a ‘true believer’ in sport’s economic potential.

“Sport is powerful because it cuts across all demographics. It doesn’t matter if you’re old, young, male, female, what your wealth is. Sport is accessible,” he tells CODE Sports.

“So you get the attention of everybody and you use it as a platform to encourage interest, and hopefully economic interest, in South Australia.”

AFL CEO Andrew Dillon and South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas outside Prospect Oval, launching the Gather Round fixture, in November. Picture: Matt Loxton

Critics say that Malinauskas is throwing money at any event.

But unlike other state governments that have run into embarrassing trouble promising the world for sporting events and being unable to deliver, he and South Australia have been judicious.

“We’ve had a lot of people make approaches to us for investment in various things and we’re being quite selective. We wanted to get a schedule of events across the year and late March and April was a gap for us, so that’s why these two events worked out quite well.”

To use a football analogy, South Australia is practising smart list strategy and salary cap management.

“I look at the cost of the Olympics and it is mind boggling in comparison to what our investment is for LIV and Gather Round, ours is a drop in the ocean,” he says.

“The Olympics are amazing, there’s nothing quite like it. But after two weeks it’s gone and it doesn’t come back again for at least another 30 years.

“The good thing is that these are events year in year out that we can build off of. We’ve got Gather Round locked in for another three years and LIV locked in for another four.

Gather Round is locked in for Adelaide for the next three years. Picture: Getty Images

“You have to have KPIs that you can honestly measure yourself against because you know everything is not going to work in these types of investments.

“The cost has to be affordable and modest in comparison to something like the Olympics or the Grand Prix.”

Perhaps South Australia’s approach is an embodiment of Malinauskas’ own deep knowledge of sport and its business side.

He says that with Gather Round and LIV Golf, their advantage was getting in on the ground floor and understanding what it could be – rather than what it was.

“With LIV, that was a bit of a calculation because Australians have been deprived of high quality professional golf tournaments for decades. It was obvious to me that there was a market that wasn’t being met.”

Whereas many pollies look and sound cringe-worthy when talking about sport, the fan in Malinauskas makes him look born for it.

The credibility he has earned over the past 12 months has also given him the platform to demand better treatment from sporting organisations that typically look east rather than west.

*****

The day-night Test was an outstanding success for Adelaide. Picture: Getty Images

Those who have been to a pre-Christmas Adelaide Test match, with its influx of travellers and social atmosphere, know that it was the summer version of Gather Round decades before the AFL came along.

When the Test featured the lowly West Indies two years in a row, and was last summer moved to January, Malinauskas was understandably angry.

“I have been vocal about cricket scheduling in the past because fans have come off second best. I think what happened this summer was really unfair, it diminished the effort that a lot of people have put in to build up that event over the years,” he explains.

The Adelaide Test is now locked back into its pre-Christmas slot for the next five years and Malinauskas wants to work with Cricket Australia in the way he’s so enthusiastically worked with the AFL and LIV.

“I think there’s lots to look forward to in terms of how we can build that event and make it the go-to Test as far as travelling is concerned. And there hasn’t been a dollar of investment from the state government to facilitate that, which is important to put on the record.”

Talor Gooch on the 18th with the surging crowd during day three of Liv Golf Adelaide in 2023. The event is locked in for four more years. Picture: Getty Images

Cricket Australia should be excited, LIV and AFL Gather Round exceeded all economic expectations and have produced a halo for those sports that goes way beyond a paycheck.

According to independent analysis last year, Gather Round contributed $83.5 million to the SA economy for its reported $14 million investment, while LIV tipped in $64.9 million to the state’s coffers.

Which brings us back to why he chose the sporting path in the first place.

Malinauskas was elected Premier in March 2022 just as the final impacts of COVID lockdowns and impositions were ending. Things needed to be kickstarted and Malinauskas was in the right place at the right time, with the right passion.

“The genesis of the policy was actually COVID because we saw during COVID that the hospitality industry in South Australia, like everywhere else around the world, was getting smashed and we took to our election a policy to invest in events as a stimulator of those industries,” he says.

Some 151,487 visitor nights were recorded for Gather Round alone. They filled cafes, hotels, restaurants and bars through Adelaide and the round’s regional tentacles, vindicating the sport-centric policy.

Harry Himmelberg soars above the pack for the Giants during Gather Round in 2023, which recorded more than 150,000 visitor nights alone. Picture: AFL Photos via Getty Images

“Little did we know though that it would be as successful as it has been. Both events were real boons for the state economically, particularly for those industries that paid such a big price in the course of COVID.”

Some 32 per cent of last year’s tickets were snapped up by interstate visitors. This year it’s up to 38 per cent, which suggests the impact will be greater.

Clearly the sums are adding up on sporting investment for South Australia.

“We’ve got the lowest unemployment rate in the country, the number one performing economy in the country according to ANZ and Commbank amongst others,” the Premier says.

Chase Koepka hits a hole in one on the 12th hole during day three of Liv Golf Adelaide in 2023. Picture: Getty Images

Chase Koepka’s epic celebration of a hole in one with his caddie. Picture: Getty Images

“We’ve got a story to tell that we’re proud of and this event gives us a chance to do that.”

So while economics are important, in a political sense there’s just as much to gain from the energetic Malinauskas getting on a TV screen this weekend to talk about his state and galvanise his electorate.

Nothing unites South Australians like telling those highfalutin Victorians how good their home is.

“This is an opportunity for us to be able to change a few perceptions about South Australia in a positive way,” he says.

“South Australians don’t just want to enjoy the footy, they want to be an outstanding host to people coming in. from across the border and this gives us a chance to do that.”

Originally published as Gather Round: How Covid sent South Australia down a path to lucrative sporting investments