Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
A new Gather Round deal is unlikely to be announced this weekend as the AFL and SA Government haggle over how to build on its success.
Tasmania’s entry to the league from 2028 and SA’s determination for a longer-term contract are complicating negotiations, plus the success of the concept has attracted interest from other states.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon was making all the right noises on Wednesday morning about the round staying in Adelaide.
There were hopes that an extension to the current three-year agreement, which is about to end, would be announced by Sunday.
But SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said it was more important that a new deal should be right, rather than rushed.
Malinauskas and Dillon were also bullish that visitor numbers from interstate over the next four days would match or even better last year, despite fuel price concerns.
This is the fourth year of Gather Round and it is one of the highlights of the AFL calendar. Round five will also be the first time this season that all 18 teams are playing.
“All good agreements reflect win-win arrangements and we’re focused on that,” Malinauskas said.
“We’re both of the view, better to get it right than rushed.
“I actually think it’s an important thing for the country as a whole. There is no thing like our own Australian game that brings people together in a way that Aussie Rules does.
“Gather Round is that, on steroids.”
Standing next to each other at their media call ahead of the round, Malinauskas and Dillon spruiked their points of view.
“SA has put its best foot forward over four years. All of Australia has embraced Gather Round, so I’m looking forward to fruitful discussions with the Premier,” Dillon said.
He added the league would move to 22 or 24 rounds – it is currently 23 – when Tasmania joins.
“Gather Round is unique … it works really well in Adelaide,” he said.
“There’s complexity, when you’re talking about an additional game that wasn’t part of the collective agreement.
“We have a 19th team coming into the competition … which means we’ll have a new competition structure.”
Dillon was asked if it would be silly to move Gather Round from Adelaide and its neighbouring regions.
“I’ve been accused of a lot of things and silly is one of them,” he said.
“Gather Round works here.
“If it makes sense to do it (an announcement) this weekend, we’ll do it. If it takes two weeks or two months later, we’ll do that as well.
A fuel discount of 10c per litre has been made available on the AFL app for fans driving from interstate.
“As things stand right now, we actually have more hotel rooms booked than we did at the same time last year,” Malinauskas said.
“It is clear, on all the of the metrics we’ve seen thus far … that this year’s Gather Round will be as big as last year’s, maybe even a little bit bigger again.”
