‘All footy clubs and all footy stars at one place at one time’: Gather Round fate revealed
AFL head honchos have made their call on how much longer the SA government can keep Gather Round in the state. See how much the state’s top events deliver to the economy.
The AFL will keep Gather Round in South Australia until at least 2029, Premier Peter Malinauskas and AFL boss Andrew Dillon announced in a joint press conference today.
Its new three-year deal will incorporate a player parade on the Friday of Gather Round that has 10 players from each club participating in a CBD event to ignite fans, starting next year.
The deal would also see the inclusion of a “marquee match”, which is likely to be a Grand Final replay on the Saturday night.
Dillon told a press conference at the Adelaide Oval today that he was “thrilled” to have the event to stay in SA, because in the years since Gather Round began in 2023, “it has become an unmissable few days during the footy season”.
Malinauskas said April’s Gather Round was another record-breaker, attracting more than 270,000 fans.
“We’re going to have footy parade where all footy clubs and all stars will be in one place at one time, Gather Round,” he said.
“It will be in the CBD and the reason why that is important, of course, is accessibility and public transport.
“We will ensure that public transport is free for that afternoon so everybody is able to go to the parade, just like we do with the Christmas pageant.”
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From 2023 to 2025, the state government said Gather Rounds generated more than $285 million for the state’s economy.
How much the state government and SA Tourism Commission paid to have Gather Round staged in the state remains “commercial in confidence”.
Over the past four years, it has attracted more than one million attendees to matches across Mount Barker Stadium, Adelaide Oval, Norwood Oval and the new Barossa Park venue, according to the state government.
“Gather Round is about much more than football – it brings people together, showcases our restaurants and wine regions on a national stage and pours tens of millions of dollars into our economy every year,” Malinauskas said.
“Gather Round for five days is an opportunity to showcase Adelaide and South Australia, in a different way for the rest of the nation. That was an opportunity that we very much appreciated.
“There are all the benefits for local businesses who are flat out across Gather Round weekend, making money, which is no shame, that’s a good thing.”
Despite no deal being announced today, the Premier expressed a “growing anticipation” for a State of Origin football match to be held at Adelaide Oval in the next few years.
Earlier this year, the State of Origin competition returned nationally for the first time since 1999, with Western Australian playing Victoria at Optus Stadium in Perth in February.
Dillon said there were ongoing discussions with state governments around Australia surrounding expanding State of Origin’s future.
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“What I can say about origin football is that it was super successful this year. We’re having conversations with our players, and clubs, and state governments about that,” Dillon said.
“But South Australiams are really proud of the state, and they will be involved in Origin going forward.”
South Australian Business Chamber CEO Andrew Kay welcomed announcement of a Gather Round extension, saying “the link between sport and business is well established”.
“Beyond the obvious benefits for the tourism and hospitality sectors, AFL Gather Round has been the catalyst for investor engagement with local businesses that would otherwise have taken years to transpire,” Kay said.
“It has taken an event of this scale and broad appeal to fast track an awareness of the transitioning SA economy outside our borders. Removing the uncertainty around its future is a boost for business in challenging times.”
What SA’s top events bring into the coffers
Gather Round is cementing its spot in Adelaide’s events calendar each April, joining LIV Golf and the Adelaide Grand Final as top sporting events and filling the gap between summer’s Adelaide Fringe and the winter’s Illuminate festival.
The existing state government deal has LIV Golf remaining in Adelaide until at least 2031, but the future of the tournament is up in the air after Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund pulled out millions of dollars in funding support.
Adelaide’s 2027 event, due to be held at Kooyonga Golf Course should be safe if LIV Golf can secure more funding, and the organisation is understood to be courting investors.
The golf event held in February reportedly delivered more than $81 million to the state’s coffers and attracted more than 102,000 attendees in 2025, according to the SA Tourism Commission.
Winter festival Illuminate will soon light up the city in July. Now in its sixth year, festival organisers said it was one of the state’s fastest growing events. It drew in $74.7 million to the state’s economy in 2025 and an audience of 1.5 million, including about 98,000 interstate and overseas visitors.
Since 2023, the Adelaide Fringe has pulled in more than a million ticket sales each year with about $27 million in revenue, 2025’s festival amassing more than five million total attendees.
State government figures showed Bp’s Adelaide Grand Final delivered $100 million to the state economy in November, and the 2026 Tour Down Under delivered $86.9 million.
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