THE AFL will head to the Barossa Valley in 2025, with at least one game to be played in the famed South Australian wine region as part of the third edition of Gather Round.
The League announced today that the 2025 Gather Round will run from Thursday April 10 to Sunday April 13, which will coincide with school holidays in South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland.
The traditional Easter round of matches will follow over the long weekend of April 18-21.
While the full Gather Round fixture will be announced later this year, it's been confirmed that at least one match will be played at Lyndoch Recreation Park in the Barossa Valley - about 70km north of Adelaide - the first time a game for premiership points has been played in the region.
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 on Tuesday.
"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.
This year's Gather Round games were attended by 265,011 spectators, with 33 per cent coming from outside of South Australia.
The net economic benefit to the state was $91.6 million, compared with $83.5 million for last year's inaugural Gather Round.
"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," Dillon said.
"It has been a proven strategy over the first two years, especially considering the interstate visitors making up 33 per cent of match attendees."
Virgin Australia, the AFL's official airline, will again put on extra flights to Adelaide for the Gather Round weekend.
Lyndoch Recreation Park is currently undergoing an upgrade to get it ready for games next season, with South Australia premier Peter Malinauskas lauding the economic impact Gather Round has had on the state.
"A $91.6 million economic contribution is a significant return, as are the almost 200,000 visitor nights," he said.
"That represents tens of thousands of interstate visitors filling our hotels, and spending money in our cafes and bars.
"We look forward to making the 2025 event bigger and better again – with the Barossa Valley set to feature for the first time."