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AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has declared the grand final will only be held before a crowd and says a decision on which state will host the event will be made by the end of next week.
On a day Victoria recorded 55 new local cases of coronavirus, McLachlan confirmed the opening fortnight of the finals will be held outside of Victoria because of the lockdown extension and restrictions, a move which increases the chances of the grand final being held in Perth, Queensland or South Australia on September 25.
“I think there is certainly a public acceptance now the first couple of weeks we won’t be having crowds in Victoria, but there is a hope we will be there in the last Saturday of September,” he said.
“Until I have public or privately any different understanding, then that’s where we are played.”
Perth, Queensland and South Australia are all keen to stage the grand final, with Perth favourite because of the success of the Dreamtime clash between Essendon and Richmond.
McLachlan, who had said a final call could be made in late September, said on Friday a final decision on whether the showpiece event remained at the MCG or shifted interstate was to be made within days.
“There is a lot of planning that goes into that game. I think the conversations will come to a head in the next days. There is no doubt about that, probably got up to a week,” McLachlan said during his fortnightly slot on 3AW.
“We have got a great partnership with the Victorian government, we have got a great sports minister, we are having almost daily conversations. They are supportive of us progressing discussions with other states because they know we need to have back-up plans.”
What is clear is that McLachlan will have the grand final held before a crowd.
“I’m sort of unapologetic about that. This is the pinnacle, there are 800 players and staff, 15 million supporters have been leaning in all year and it needs to give it justice - the biggest sporting event in the country,” he said.
McLachlan said the schedule for the first week of the finals was likely to be released on Sunday night, with matches in South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania.
The AFL is wary of WA’s penchant for snap lockdowns should a COVID-19 case emerge in the days preceding the grand final but VenuesLive, which manages the $1.8 billion, 60,000-seat Optus Stadium, has submitted a strong proposal.
Brisbane is also in the hunt, having last year hosted the first AFL grand final outside Victoria.
The AFL has scrapped the pre-finals bye but McLachlan said one option was to have a week off between the preliminary finals and grand final, which could help with quarantine issues.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has declared the grand final will only be held before a crowd and says a decision on which state will host the event will be made by the end of next week.
On a day Victoria recorded 55 new local cases of coronavirus, McLachlan confirmed the opening fortnight of the finals will be held outside of Victoria because of the lockdown extension and restrictions, a move which increases the chances of the grand final being held in Perth, Queensland or South Australia on September 25.
“I think there is certainly a public acceptance now the first couple of weeks we won’t be having crowds in Victoria, but there is a hope we will be there in the last Saturday of September,” he said.
“Until I have public or privately any different understanding, then that’s where we are played.”
Perth, Queensland and South Australia are all keen to stage the grand final, with Perth favourite because of the success of the Dreamtime clash between Essendon and Richmond.
McLachlan, who had said a final call could be made in late September, said on Friday a final decision on whether the showpiece event remained at the MCG or shifted interstate was to be made within days.
“There is a lot of planning that goes into that game. I think the conversations will come to a head in the next days. There is no doubt about that, probably got up to a week,” McLachlan said during his fortnightly slot on 3AW.
“We have got a great partnership with the Victorian government, we have got a great sports minister, we are having almost daily conversations. They are supportive of us progressing discussions with other states because they know we need to have back-up plans.”
What is clear is that McLachlan will have the grand final held before a crowd.
“I’m sort of unapologetic about that. This is the pinnacle, there are 800 players and staff, 15 million supporters have been leaning in all year and it needs to give it justice - the biggest sporting event in the country,” he said.
McLachlan said the schedule for the first week of the finals was likely to be released on Sunday night, with matches in South Australia, Queensland and Tasmania.
The AFL is wary of WA’s penchant for snap lockdowns should a COVID-19 case emerge in the days preceding the grand final but VenuesLive, which manages the $1.8 billion, 60,000-seat Optus Stadium, has submitted a strong proposal.
Brisbane is also in the hunt, having last year hosted the first AFL grand final outside Victoria.
The AFL has scrapped the pre-finals bye but McLachlan said one option was to have a week off between the preliminary finals and grand final, which could help with quarantine issues.
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