AFL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Demetriou said the league made the move as a ‘thank you’ gesture to football fans.
“Historically, we have increased our general admission prices by CPI but we decided not to do that for 2009 in part as a way of saying thank you to the supporters of our clubs and the game for the role they played in making this year such an outstanding success,” he said.
Demetriou said football’s 150th anniversary year was a terrific one for the AFL community.
"Our fans across the country have supported the game in record numbers in 2008, in attending AFL matches, in watching games, in making the financial commitment to support an AFL club and in their desire to get out onto the ground and play the game," he said.
"We are extremely grateful for the success that our supporters have made of the 150th year of Australia's only truly indigenous game, and it's important that we say thank you to our supporters in 2009.”
Total attendances for the Toyota AFL Premiership Season reached 7,083,015, eclipsing the previous all-time record of 7,049,945 in 2007.
This was matched by record numbers in both registered AFL participants and official club members of the 16 AFL clubs.
Demetriou said the decision to maintain ticket prices was made partially due to the tough economic times.
"There are also likely to be many challenges for families in the coming year and we want to ensure that AFL football remains affordable and accessible for as many fans as possible.”
The prices for 2009 are as follows:
| Adult | Concession | Junior | Family | |
| General Admission | $19.00 | $11.50 | $2.20 | $38.00 |
| 11 Home Game Membership Ticket | $131.00 | $79.00 | $16.00 | $254.00 |
