THE AFL is pleased to announce the 2025 'Gather Round ... A Festival of Footy' will run from Thursday, April 10 through to Sunday, April 13 with the fixture to be announced later this year.
The Barossa Valley will host AFL Premiership matches for the first time, with facilities at Lyndoch Recreation Park presently being upgraded.
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 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.
To book your flight to Gather Round 2025 please visit www.virginaustralia.com
Official Accommodation Partner ALL.com offers fans access to a variety of options to suit all tastes and budgets with over 10 hotels and apartments across Adelaide. Travelling fans can choose from brands like Sofitel, Pullman, Peppers, Ibis and more. Visit ALL.com to book, plus a special Member Rate can be unlocked by joining ALL for free.
