Adelaide Oval and Buddy some of the reasons behind record growth
PORT Adelaide and Adelaide are among 12 clubs to break membership records in 2014, as the AFL surpassed the 800,000 member barrier for the first time.
The League released its membership tally on Friday, confirming it had reached 804,480 members nationally to the July 31 deadline.
With their move to the Adelaide Oval, the South Australian clubs have enjoyed a significant rise.
The Power recorded the best year-on-year growth of any club, jumping 22.92 per cent on last year's membership tally to finish with 48,968 members in 2014.
The Crows also increased their base 16.9 per cent to sign 54,249 members.
"The membership growth of both Adelaide clubs over the past 12 months is outstanding and has clearly been driven by a combination of on-field success and the introduction of the newly developed Adelaide Oval," AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said.
"The manner in which the people of South Australia have embraced the new Adelaide Oval has undoubtedly been one of the highlights of the 2014 season."
The Brisbane Lions, Carlton and St Kilda were the only clubs to not increase their membership base since last year.
The Sydney Swans' recent success, and the acquisition of superstar forward Lance Franklin, has seen their membership base expand significantly.
The Swans had fewer than 30,000 members when they won the premiership in 2012, before lifting to 36,358 last year.
Franklin's addition at the end of 2013 has coincided with them breaking through 40,000 members for the first time, recording a tally of 40,126 in 2014.
Collingwood sit at the top of the competition for total members with 79,347, which is an all-time record for an AFL club.
Hawthorn, Richmond, Essendon, West Coast and the Crows are the other clubs to surpass 50,000 members.
"With more fans signed up to their club than ever before I want to urge members to make the most of their membership and support their club by attending as many games as possible over the course of a season," McLachlan said.
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