AFL Gather Round in Adelaide – Dates Locked In For 2025.
The AFL has announced the 2025 ‘Gather Round … A Festival of Footy’ will run from Thursday 10 April through to Sunday 12 April with the fixture to be announced later this year.
The 2025 Gather Round will coincide with the middle weekend of school holidays in Victoria and Queensland and the first weekend of school holidays in South Australia, Western Australia and New South Wales. It will be the round of matches before Easter.
The Barossa Valley will host AFL Premiership matches for the first time, with facilities at Lyndoch Recreation Park presently being upgraded.
Games during the 2023 and 2024 Gather Rounds were split between Adelaide Oval and Norwood Oval in the city and Mount Barker in the Adelaide Hills.
There could be as many as two games in the Barossa next year, which could see the Mount Barker venue scrapped from the fixture.
“I am not ruling anything in or out,” AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said.
“There will be five or six games at Adelaide Oval like we’ve had previously, games in a metro venue.
“So if we went to two games in the Barossa, it would be unlikely to be Mt Barker.”
Norwood Oval in Adelaide’s inner east is set to again host games, despite interest from other SANFL grounds, including Glenelg Oval, to host a game.
The 2024 Gather Round saw significant growth on the inaugural events, with record crowd and economic growth generated. Across the nine matches, 265,011 fans attended a game, with 33 per cent being interstate visitors.
The AFL engaged consultancy IER to generate an economic impact report from the 2024 Gather Round with the Total Economic Contribution for the 2024 Gather Round event being $91.6M, up 10% on the total contribution of the 2023 event ($83.5M).
The research indicated Gather Round contributed to 191,696 visitor nights in South Australia, with interstate visitors spending on average 4.5 nights in the state.
Announcing the dates as early as possible enables fans to book travel and accommodation in advance of the weekend.
“This year’s Gather Round was an incredible success, it was always going to hard to top the original, but the sequel delivered one of the best footy experiences of all time,” AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said.
“The timing of the 2025 event and the April school holidays will give fans and families the best opportunity to be able visit South Australia. It has been a proven strategy over the first two years, especially considering the interstates visitors making up 33% of match attendees.
“Our planning has already begun, and I’m excited to be able to announce more details later in the year, making 2025 Gather Round our best yet.”
South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said
“We know that Gather Round was an extraordinary success in 2024, and built on the strong foundations we set with the inaugural event in 2023.
“A $91.6 million economic contribution is a significant return, as are the almost 200,000 visitor nights
“That represents tens of thousands of interstate visitors filling our hotels, and spending money in our cafes and bars.
“But it’s not just the direct benefit. Gather Round matches and events like the Norwood Food & Wine Festival provide an opportunity for our state to tell its story.
“We look forward to making the 2025 event bigger and better again – with the Barossa Valley set to feature for the first time.”
As the official airline of the AFL and Gather Round, Virgin Australia will again be laying on extra flights to help transport fans to the event which are available now.
STAY TUNED FOR GATHER ROUND 2025 INFO COMING SOON
THE 2024 GATHER ROUND EVENTS INCLUDED:
GATHER ROUND LIVE CONCERT
GATHER ROUND EVENTS FOR FAMILIES:
Macca’s Footy Festival – Elder Park
A four-day festival full of free activities and entertainment for all ages, including some of South Australia’s best local vendors, food trucks and licensed bars, featuring the popular 150m long zip line over The River Torrens.
FIND OUT MORE HERE
Gather in the Hills – Hahndorf Footy Festival
A FREE community event with highlights such as:
- AFL match screenings
- Live Music
- FREE face painting, balloons & craft activities
- FREE mural workshop
- Lawn games & interactive installations
- Player Appearances
FIND OUT MORE HERE
Gather Round – Rundle Mall
Rundle Mall transformed into a Gather Round Live Site near the Gawler Place Canopy offering family friendly activations.
Highlights include:
- The near 10-metre high inflatable Sherrin footy
- Interactive handball challenge and other skills games
- The Footy Bar operated by Mollydooker MollyVan serving wine, spirits and beer from Pirate Life Brewing
- Digital footy quiz with live leader board
- Personalised souvenir footy cards
- Player appearances
- A pop-up AFL Store outside Stephens Place
- Rebel ‘reboot your boots to win’ activation, where visitors can donate their old football boots for the chance to win tickets to the 2024 Toyota AFL Grand Final
- MG car activation featuring a pop-up interactive handball challenge located outside Novo Shoes
FIND OUT MORE HERE
FREE HEALTH CHECKS
The South Australian Government joined forces with SiSU Health, The Shane Warne Legacy, and Flinders University to provide free heart and diabetes checks at the 2024 AFL Gather Round.
The initiative aimed to screen a minimum of 9,000 attendees, heightening awareness of cardiovascular and metabolic health and associated risks.
The free checks were available across 4 festival sites at Gather Round:
- Adelaide Oval
- Elder Park
- Norwood Oval
- Mount Barker
- MORE INFO HERE
BOOKINGS TO VISIT SOUTH AUSTRALIA FOR GATHER ROUND
You can register your interest in premium hospitality and experiences through the AFL’s official provider, the AFL Event Office.
As the official airline of the AFL & Gather Round, Virgin Australia will again be adding extra flights to help transport fans to the event which are available to book now.
Documentary Inside Gather Round: A Festival of Footy takes viewers inside the AFL’s inaugural Gather Round and showcasing South Australia in a four-day Festival of Footy.
For more information and all enquiries please visit the AFL website or follow their Facebook page for updates.
What: AFL GATHER ROUND
When: Thursday 10 – Sunday 13 April 2025
Where: South Australia (locations TBC)
Who: Everyone
At Play & Go Adelaide we make every effort to provide accurate information to the best of our knowledge at the time of publication. We recommend confirming times, dates and details directly before making any plans as details may be subject to change.
Image Source: AFL Media / Play & Go
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