The dates for a second showcase of the AFL's Gather Round in South Australia have been locked in, with the event set to take place from April 4th-7th in 2024.
The inaugural Gather Round in South Australia was an immediate success earlier in 2023, so much so that South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas and AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan announced to the Adelaide Oval crows that SA would host the event annually for three more years.
The Malinauskas government have now announced exactly how successful the weekend was for South Australia.
According to independent analysis undertaken by IER for the AFL, the state received an $83.5 million economic boost from the footy festival, courtesy of 41,262 people flocking to Adelaide to attend the weekend's football offerings, 32% of which came from outside of South Australia.
"The inaugural Gather Round was a success beyond anyone’s expectations – and now we’ve got the data to prove it."
While travelers came from all over Australia for the event, Victoria were responsible for a 65.2% majority of travelers. New South Wales, Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania were (in that order) the next biggest contributors of travelers to SA.
The data also reveals the Adelaide Hills received a $2 million boost thanks to the match played in Mount Barker between Brisbane and North Melbourne.
The extended weekend was responsible for 151,487 visitor nights stayed in South Australia, 25,157 of which were outside of Adelaide, with the vast majority of them likely to have been in the Adelaide Hills.
While the state has received a massive economic boost, it remains to be seen how much - if any - of that impact will be felt by regional South Australia beyond the Adelaide Hills.
The state government are hopeful The Barossa Valley will be able to host at least one game as part of Gather Round 2024, but it is unconfirmed as of yet whether or not the event will feature any regional locations.
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