The AFL is unlikely to fixture any games at Marvel Stadium in Round 1 of the 2024 season due to the venue's limited availability.
Triple-platinum artist Pink has added one final date to her 2024ย Summer Carnival tour that could fall on the eve of when the season is expected to open. The American musician now has a total of four shows at Marvel Stadium, with the first two commencing on February 23 and 24. After completing the rest of her shows around the country, Pink will return for two final concerts in Melbourne on March 12 and 13 - the Tuesday and Wednesday prior to the season's opening weekend, with the latter added to her schedule on Monday morning.
The AFL has scheduled next year's rendition of Gather Round for Round 4, commencing on April 4, lining up with Victoria's school holidays. Three weeks prior - the AFL's expected Round 1 timeslot - Pink's shows will fall during the week of the first round of the season, with the opening clash between Carlton and Richmond likely to take place on Thursday, March 14 at the MCG.
At the beginning of the 2023 campaign, the MCG and Optus Stadium came under heavy scrutiny for allowing British superstar Ed Sheeran to perform so close to the start of the season. Whilst Sheeran's concert set records for crowd attendance with a staggering estimate of 215,000 over two nights at the MCG, the state of the hallowed turf was up for debate.
The MCG underwent its largest turf replacement since 2014 to accommodate for the opening round, which took place only 13 days after Sheeran's final show.
Players and coaches alike had varying opinions on the re-laid turf after Round 1, with an injury to Geelong defender Tom Stewart making headlines. The 30-year-old slipped early in the first quarter before being subbed out with a grade two MCL injury.
Similarly to the MCG, Optus Stadium had worrying images released of the turf prior to the start of Round 2. West Coast and Fremantle were both left without home games to commence their 2023 campaigns to accommodate Sheeran's concert. The quality of the ground left some scratching their heads over the decision to host a concert during the AFL season.
Removing Marvel Stadium as a location for Round 1 will cause some headaches for the AFL as it often plays host to Essendon, Carlton, North Melbourne, St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs. Whilst fixturing these sides for an away game to start the season is all possible, many may be forced to play interstate to start their seasons, if not at the MCG. To help ease fixture planning, Geelong could host a Victorian rival at GMHBA Stadium for their season opener.
Seeing as the quality of both the MCG and Optus Stadium was significantly impacted by the concerts in 2023, Marvel Stadium may be in for the same fate. Whilst taking out the stadium for Round 1 allows for time to fix and most likely re-lay some of the turf, the turnaround would still be just over a week.
Marvel Stadium was required for resurfacing days prior to Round 1 this year due to a string of Harry Styles concerts in the lead-up to the AFL season. The AFL could be needing to resurface the Docklands venue ahead of Round 2 next season.
If the 2023 opening two rounds were anything to go off, it looks as though there may be some controversy to kick off 2024.
