The club acknowledges his significant achievement in growing the game nationally through a range of initiatives under his leadership which include competition expansion in the Northern States; the embracing of Indigenous Australians and multicultural communities; the promotion of women at all levels; the provision of first-class stadium facilities and the establishment of significant broadcast rights.
Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas paid tribute to Mr Demetriou for his contribution to the AFL nationally but also acknowledged his tremendous support of the club through challenging times.
“Beyond the extraordinary growth of our game nationally under Andrew Demetriou’s leadership, there are two things that I specifically remember from our club’s relationship with him,” recalled Mr Thomas.
“In August 2011, which was around the time I started here at Port Adelaide as chief executive, we were in a very difficult position both on and off the field.
“At the time I clearly remember Andrew responding very aggressively to media reports questioning our viability and long-term sustainability in the AFL competition.
“Andrew stated passionately that he could not imagine an AFL competition without Port Adelaide and I thought that was a really strong statement of leadership that was very comforting to hear from our club’s point of view,” said Mr Thomas.
Mr Thomas also highlighted Mr Demetriou’s vision and desire to return AFL games to Adelaide Oval in South Australia.
“The second most significant issue from a Port Adelaide perspective was Andrew’s role in returning AFL back to the Adelaide Oval,” said Mr Thomas.
“I know that Andrew has already publicly declared returning football to the Adelaide Oval as one of the greatest achievements in his professional career and it was particularly important to our club.
“For not only did Andrew stabilise our club with his words of support but he was a principle member of the team that negotiated the opportunity for us to take footy back to the Adelaide Oval which in turn changed the financial model for us and ensured our long-term financial security.
“Andrew has certainly been a great friend of Port Adelaide and an outstanding administrator for the AFL. We are all significantly better off for his contribution to our national game,” said Mr Thomas.
