2026 Attendances

[threenewpadlocks]

To be fair, $600 is an unbelievable bargain given what it gets you. Stay a member for long enough and you can realistically have the opportunity to get grand final tickets at face value, even if your team isn't playing.
So i'm not sure AFL members should have any sense of entitlement here.

I don't disagree - that is why I am a silver member getting value for money attending lots of games, avoiding a typical $27 (sometimes cheaper GA ticket) with the added benefit of the waiting list you describe.

But ultimately, it's the willingness of people to pay for that benefit that part funded the building of the stand in 1993, and will part fund whenever they next redevelop the wider Southern Stand again.

The overall benefit of the AFL Membership is around $60 million a year in revenue. Minus the opportunity cost of having that reserve available for other fans (such as the case they did partially so for Easter Monday, and in the finals), plus the fact that some former AFL members would have otherwise paid $27 occasionally to sit in a GA reserve in the game or buy club memberships to do e.g. Pies fans would do this (that is also worth probably tens of millions of dollars).

Impossible to calculate that opportunity cost, but it probably isn't approaching $60 million, so the AFL benefits tens of millions of dollars for it per year - money that they can put back into yet another redevelopment of the Southern Stand and continue to get those benefits.

80,000 people "pay" an average of $15 for a ticket for their 40 game access, for a 23,000 seat stand, for which the lack of use of those 40 games is a benefit that the AFL likes because that accumulation of $15 for every unused ticket goes towards the $60 million.

Of course, what's in it for the members (such as Pies fans or theatre-goers fans) get to squat on this membership to access GF or increasingly other capacity MCG finals with that membership - they do not care that they failed to attend a H&A game via the membership, that the collective attendance patterns of the 80,000 members in the aggregate leaves the AFL reserve more empty than the rest of the stadium for games like these.

It's an interesting discussion for if, when talking revenue in the tens of millions if the AFL should discourage GF squatting, open up 23,000 more tickets to club members, but charge more for those tickets? An average AFL grand final ticket is about $500. Could they charge $1200 for a GF ticket in the AFL reserve, to cover the cost of a $700 Gold Membership that funds the AFL, but open that ticket up to access to club members? They wouldn't want to, because it's far more palatable in the public to be seen for rinsing $700 from AFL Gold Members who pay $700 a year to squat on a GF ticket, than it is to charge a club member $1200 (even if that club member had no access to a GF ticket full stop even if they wanted to pay $1200).

 

[Rouel_14]

I mean, not really, the fact that an AFL membership costs $600 is the idea that there is access to a reserve that's yours.

They did sell public seats in the AFL reserve anyway, but if it becomes a common and consistent thing, AFL members are right to question what precisely their money actually buys

To be fair has anyone checked club memberships lately? Mines $1,300 for a level 2 reserved seat ant Richmond only home games and GF lock.

$600 for pretty much any Melbourne game and access to the big ones is a an absolute steal.

How longs the wait list for gold? Maybe I should sign up!

 

[Hawkk]

The way that the AFL Membership is set up is the right to not actually turn up provided they've purchased their membership and paid the money for it though. It's their reserve, not the club members' or the public's.

The AFL got the right to have this reserve when they substantially contributed to the cost of the redevelopment of the stand in 1993. Of course, the AFL can just decide what they want to do with this reserve, but they would piss off a lot of its AFL Membership base and a major revenue source if they stopped it being an AFL reserve. The reason they can sell tens of thousands of AFL memberships (worth millions of dollars) and then have a waiting list and bronze membership is precisely because of the knowledge of the size of the AFL reserve.

That's not to say that I don't think that the AFL shouldn't slightly design the membership in such a way to encourage people to turn up - similar to European soccer etc. - where you get access to premium fixtures via actually turning up to other games. Too many people effectively squatting on a membership solely for the purpose of Anzac Day, and Prelims/GF. Perhaps the AFL also shouldn't be so money hungry to demand $12 to reserve a seat to sit at the back (and then claim that there's a few walk-up rows), but rather allow people to reserve a seat for a nominal cost of facilitation/administration of the ticket (a few dollars, not $12)

But broadly speaking, the AFL membership system is good for the revenue it produces for the AFL, and the desire for a crowd to have a few hundred more people in isn't worth upsetting the millions of dollars of additional revenue its oexistence brings in.

The issue in the AFL members is the same as the MCC (before they opened it up to a wave of new members for lower drawing games). No one wants to sit in the pockets, so the crowd looks very sparse from M21 to M28 for any non Collingwood game under 45,000 (and any Melbourne game under 55,000).

That’s not all that surprising when Carlton and Essendon only have 8,000 AFL members and Richmond, Hawthorn and Geelong have 5,000 to 7,000 members and the reserve fits 15,000 (or thereabouts). From memory Melbourne has the smallest with 2,000 whilst Collingwood has 10,000 plus.

I understand that 30 years ago the AFL used to open up parts of the members for low drawing games (back when they close off the old Ponsford Stand). I don’t know why they don’t do it again.

In round 1 Melbourne v St Kilda drew 45,000 but the AFL members was basically empty. Had they opened up spare seats in M21-M28 to the general public it would have looked much better on TV. I’m not talking about the marquee games, it’s the games where no one sits in those seats anyway.

 

[Underarm]

How longs the wait list for gold? Maybe I should sign up!

The line has ground to a standstill. Signed up in 2012 and its like a 20 year wait for me. I doubt people signing up today will ever see Gold Membership before they change/remove it.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

In round 1 Melbourne v St Kilda drew 45,000 but the AFL members was basically empty. Had they opened up spare seats in M21-M28 to the general public it would have looked much better on TV. I’m not talking about the marquee games, it’s the games where no one sits in those seats anyway.

I don't necessarily disagree, but you've naturally got to weigh that decision making, and the benefit of doing so (ie, the mere benefit of "looking good on TV") vs the fact that large numbers of people buy their AFL membership precisely because they have their own reserve - sometimes empty, which might be their preference - to sit in.

When I used to live in Richmond, I certainly appreciated the fact that I could walk or short tram to the ground, have an almost empty bay to myself, not be disturbed by the public, and watch some footy without people staring at me for being alone at a neutral game without club merch on (because the other of handful of AFL members were in my bay were also often alone footy nerds like me, so they got it). The value of being able to do that was a factor in me forking over $600 a year to the AFL. If I could no longer do that, perhaps the AFL loses $600 from me - merely so they can "look good" on TV - is that worth $600? Or at the very least, say I went to 20 games a year at an average cost of $27 for a GA ticket - worth the $60 difference between $540 and $600?

 

[Rouel_14]

I don't necessarily disagree, but you've naturally got to weigh that decision making, and the benefit of doing so (ie, the mere benefit of "looking good on TV") vs the fact that large numbers of people buy their AFL membership precisely because they have their own reserve - sometimes empty, which might be their preference - to sit in.

When I used to live in Richmond, I certainly appreciated the fact that I could walk or short tram to the ground, have an almost empty bay to myself, not be disturbed by the public, and watch some footy without people staring at me for being alone at a neutral game without club merch on (because the other of handful of AFL members were in my bay were also often alone footy nerds like me, so they got it). The value of being able to do that was a factor in me forking over $600 a year to the AFL. If I could no longer do that, perhaps the AFL loses $600 from me - merely so they can "look good" on TV - is that worth $600? Or at the very least, say I went to 20 games a year at an average cost of $27 for a GA ticket - worth the $60 difference between $540 and $600?

Probably not the right thread for it, but would it cost that much really to change the side the cameras are on?

from a club perspective - it should really be about making your home game iconically your club. It would be cool for Melbourne to have the option of reverse camera position to put their best foot forward from a TV point of view.

Will a new stand have the camera spots and it look that way anyway eventually?

I don’t care what anyone says - when the crowd looks good it certainly adds to the broadcast.

 

[threenewpadlocks]

when the crowd looks good it certainly adds to the broadcast.

Again, I don't necessarily disagree, but

It would be cool for Melbourne

It's also cool that Melbourne get centralised funding from the AFL beyond what they would self-generate, via the AFL's ability to sell all-in-one packages to games in Melbourne generally such as AFL Membership, Medallion Club, and that they sell various revenue-raising elements of Docklands home games rather than leaving that up to the home club hosting (signage, food and drink, venue sponsorship, etc.).

This allows Melbourne to make their memberships cheaper, which also helps them put their best foot forward.

 

[Rouel_14]

Back to back sell outs for Melbourne storm - probably helped by Gather Round. Not a bad thing. Just sell out. Selling out 5/6 home games a season now the storm.

 

[____]

Back to back sell outs for Melbourne storm - probably helped by Gather Round. Not a bad thing. Just sell out. Selling out 5/6 home games a season now the storm.

Warriors also have a big supporter base in Melbourne.

Shame the NRL didn't try and have the ambition to put it at the G while there was no AFL on. Considering I'm not travelling to gather round this year out of protest of not getting Adelaide Oval again despite being back-to-back premiers, I definitely would have gone to the NRL had've it been at the MCG.

 

[Rabman]

Adelaide Oval crowd: 49,184

 

[Demon13304]

Again, I don't necessarily disagree, but

It's also cool that Melbourne get centralised funding from the AFL beyond what they would self-generate, via the AFL's ability to sell all-in-one packages to games in Melbourne generally such as AFL Membership, Medallion Club, and that they sell various revenue-raising elements of Docklands home games rather than leaving that up to the home club hosting (signage, food and drink, venue sponsorship, etc.).

This allows Melbourne to make their memberships cheaper, which also helps them put their best foot forward.

Idk for once it was nice to see people talking up our support and crowds, especially considering we've always been in that relocation/merger/fold talk and get ripped into arguably moreso than any other club in the league for crowds.

I've always defended North, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs support and their place in the league - but you're making that really hard to do that here. Seems like you've got something against us and I'm not sure why? Every time I see you talk about the Dees it's in totally negative context.

All that person was doing saying that it might be a good idea to swap the cameras so it looks better on tv for us (and everyone watching) and you've found a way to dump on us talking about how much help we get it in a sarcastic way - what's your issue mate, its a bit weird at this point

 

[threenewpadlocks]

Idk for once it was nice to see people talking up our support and crowds, especially considering we've always been in that relocation/merger/fold talk and get ripped into arguably moreso than any other club in the league for crowds.

I've always defended North, St Kilda and Western Bulldogs support and their place in the league - but you're making that really hard to do that here. Seems like you've got something against us and I'm not sure why? Every time I see you talk about the Dees it's in totally negative context.

All that person was doing saying that it might be a good idea to swap the cameras so it looks better on tv for us (and everyone watching) and you've found a way to dump on us talking about how much help we get it in a sarcastic way - what's your issue mate, its a bit weird at this point

No you misunderstand me.

I think it's good that the AFL centralises some revenue. It benefits Melbourne, all small clubs, and all Melbourne clubs generally, but the small clubs need that extra boost the most.

If every club that hosted a game at Docklands had access to an individual Medallian club package for their own home games only, fewer Medallian club packages would be sold generally, and all clubs in general would have less money. Because it appears there's an element of paying a lot to have access to all games that makes purchasing this more in demand than the sum of the parts of each individual team. People do not buy a Medallion Club to go to Bulldogs vs West Coast, they buy it to go see Essendon vs St Kilda, but because it's a package sold to access all games, the AFL can distribute the Medallion club revenue to all clubs evenly and proportionately, even if demand for tickets across all Melbourne based teams is not even.

It's the same principle of the AFL Reserve. 30,000 Gold Members have limitless access and 50,000 Silver Members have access to 40 games, paying $15 a game, for the reserve. They do not use this access, as the visually we can see how empty the AFL reserve is, but each of the 20,000 seats in the AFL reserve has been purchased for a Melbourne game at the cost of $15 a ticket four times over for a Melbourne home game, no matter how many of those people actually turn up. People buy the AFL membership for access to grand finals and Collingwood games, but Melbourne benefits from a solid distribution of AFL membership revenue of which only some is aligned to nominating a club of support.

I wasn't trying to be sarcastic, I just think that the benefit to Melbourne the club via these AFL central revenue streams is greater than the benefit that would be gained by the camera no longer pointing at an empty bay.

I'm not making a judgement on Melbourne's attendances. God only knows how many Bulldogs Docklands sub 20k crowds I've sat in, in my life - at least a couple of dozen. I am in full support of the small clubs, I was just being a bit flippant in discussing the AFL Membership and AFL Reserve's role in raising revenue for the AFL which thus benefits the small clubs.

 

[Gizmo]

Pies/Freo 47,275 @ AO

 

[manicmagpie]

Largest Gather Round crowds excl Crows and Power:

Coll v Syd 2025 - 47,649
Coll v Freo 2026 - 47,275
WB v Geel 2024 - 45,970
Melb v Ess 2025 - 45,039
Coll v StK 2023 - 43,976

 

[Tassieboy]

I was surprised how outnumbered Collingwood fans sounded.

 

[Cmarsh]

Pies/Freo 47,275 @ AO

Thats a very good figure for a game played in driving rain.

 

[ep12]

I was surprised how outnumbered Collingwood fans sounded.

It’s more likely than not that every neutral in the ground would have started barracking for Fremantle. If Collingwood had 15-20k supporters in the ground, they would still be outnumbered by the neutrals and freo fans.
Also need to be careful where the broadcaster puts the microphones around the ground as they can deliberately place them in louder areas.

 

[Cmarsh]

The rain has obviously been a factor, but there are also blocks of seats been taken up by corporate promotions at Adelaide Oval that impact maximising a crowd.

 

[Raz Man]

I’m hoping to see a good crowd for the Bombers/Dees game. This will be the third time we play each other at Gather Round (which annoys me, as a game at the ‘G would be nice for these two teams but that’s a debate for another day!) so hoping 40,000+ !

 

[manicmagpie]

10,613 for Bris/Nth.

 

[Cmarsh]

38,006 for Essendon vs Melbourne at AO.

 

[manicmagpie]

Largest Gather Round crowds excl Crows and Power:

Coll v Syd 2025 - 47,649
Coll v Freo 2026 - 47,275
WB v Geel 2024 - 45,970
Melb v Ess 2025 - 45,039
Coll v StK 2023 - 43,976

Hawks/Dogs was announced on Fox as over 48k so will end up on top of this list.

Mind you, they also said no Gather Round match had hit 50k when last year’s Adl/Geel one did so who knows.

 

[ep12]

38,006 for Essendon vs Melbourne at AO.

No more Melbourne Essendon games in Adelaide please.

 

[Hawkk]

Hawthorn v W Bulldogs 48,451

A record for both — a number that will surely be beaten when they play a Friday Night return game at the MCG in 8 weeks time.

 

[CarnTheScray]

Hawthorn v W Bulldogs 48,451

A record for both — a number that will surely be beaten when they play a Friday Night return game at the MCG in 8 weeks time.

Bulldogs fans are not travelling to the MCG to watch Groundhog Day mate.