The prospect of a Greater Western Sydney grand final looms as a massive bonus for the opposing supporters of the Giants following the AFL's $2 million decision to free up a record high 34,000 tickets to competing club members.
League chief Gillon McLachlan confirmed that the AFL would make all the seats available whether or not Giants members or supporters of any other non-Victorian club took up their total allocation, which is now capped at 17,000 per club.
However, McLachlan said the league would review ticket prices following the costly decision to take 4000 corporate tickets from AFL and club hospitality allocations, a move that will prove a bonus to the 2017 competing teams' members. The most expensive non-corporate grand final seat is currently $399.
The AFL's fan-friendly move will come at the expense of the now abandoned Centre Square hospitality environment at Birrarung Marr where corporate supporters shelled out several thousand dollars for meals, entertainment and a seat at the MCG. And McLachlan declared that it had become "unfair" to describe the grand final as a corporate event. He said close to 80 per cent of those attending the game were now hard-core football supporters not being charged premium prices.
"It's not fair to call it a corporate event," said McLachlan, "it's just not. When you take into account the AFL members and the MCC members, these are all hard-core footy supporters.
"We'll continue to work with the clubs to make extra seats now available and to make finals more accessible to supporters of the competing clubs. We did it last year when we made $35 tickets available during the finals." McLachlan pointed out that apart from the club members allocation – a number that has lifted significantly from the 21,000 available to members back in 2009 – 15,000 seats were available to AFL members along with about 24,000 taken up by Melbourne Cricket Club members. "These are all serious footy supporters not part of corporate events," said McLachlan, "when you consider them all in total its close to 80 per cent of the seats.
"The clubs should be rewarded for their work in attracting more members and we're expecting to announce another year of record membership – up three or four per cent – and those members deserve a better chance to see their side play in a grand final."
West Coast chief executive Trevor Nisbett, whose Eagles last competed in 2015, welcomed the new allocation. Should West Coast reach another grand final, Nisbett said 17,000 members' seats were probably the "perfect number" given the availability of flights between Perth and Melbourne.
Premiership favourite GWS now boasts close to 20,000 – some 7000 ahead of the Gold Coast – but should the Giants make the grand final and, for example, only 7000 members purchase tickets, an additional 10,000 tickets would be made available to members of the opposing club. Most Victorian clubs have premium memberships guaranteeing those members a grand final seat should their team reach the September play-off. Those memberships cost at least $1000. Every senior-listed AFL player is also allowed two grand final tickets and before each finals series are given the opportunity to buy an additional two at market price. The prospect of a better deal regarding grand final tickets has been raised during the current Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations between the players' association and the AFL.