PORT ADELAIDE would host a preliminary final at Adelaide Oval if it qualifies, the AFL has confirmed on Wednesday.
There was some speculation that both preliminary finals would be held in Queensland with the AFL Grand Final to be played there as well.
Confirming the Grand Final would be played at the Gabba at night for the first time, AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan also removed any doubt about where the prelims would be held.
“So Port Adelaide could have a prelim in Adelaide without a problem?” one journalist asked.
“Yep,” was McLachlan’s response.
Earlier he had confirmed there would be a bye in the week before finals and said the earlier finals should be able to be played in South Australia or Western Australia if required.
“If West Coast qualify, we’d like to play a week one home final in Perth. Maybe the bye helps us with that but we need to work through a seven-day hard quarantine (in Western Australia) and the logistics of that.
“Clearly in South Australia we don’t have those challenges.”
The Grand Final will be held at the Gabba on Saturday October 24. It will be a scheduled night game with the start time to be confirmed in the coming weeks.
Under the arrangement and pending health authority approval, the 2020 Toyota AFL Grand Final will be played before a crowd of approximately 30,000.
The AFL Commission ratified a recommendation by the AFL Executive yesterday, Tuesday September 1, and comes with the endorsement of the Victorian State Government, who have a contract to host the event annually until 2057.
Never before has the AFL Grand Final been played outside of Victoria and, as part of the historic decision, Queensland will host a festival of football for the State, from Far North Queensland to the Gold Coast, which will include a Premiership Cup tour across the state.
AFL Chief Executive Gillon McLachlan said Queensland had supported the AFL at a time when it needed it most.
“This has been a season like no other and I want to thank the Queensland community and the Queensland Government led by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk for their support and for wholeheartedly welcoming our game to the state,” Mr McLachlan said.
“This is an exciting opportunity for our code and we look forward to now working with the Queensland Government to successfully stage the 2020 Toyota AFL Grand Final – the biggest event on the AFL calendar - and share it with the community right across Queensland.
“The Queensland presentation was world class and, while the 2020 Toyota AFL Grand Final will be the centrepiece, an extensive promotional campaign for the sport of Australian football, including multiple regional locations throughout Queensland, will bring fans closer to footy in the lead-up to the event and provide a lasting legacy.”
