AFL Commission To Be Presented With Footy Festival Plan For Grand Final Week

The Australian Football League Commission "will be presented on Tuesday with the league’s bold plan to turn Grand Final week into a footy festival it hopes will leave an impression on the city similar to the NFL’s Superbowl fan events" in the U.S., according to Grant Baker of the HERALD SUN. Under recommendations to be put to the commission, the Grand Final Eve parade would start in the city "and head to the park outside the MCG for a big family-friendly event." That change "has in part been forced by the Andrews Government decision to gazette a public holiday on the Friday before the Grand Final." But the league "is also hoping to stake a bigger temporary claim on prime city real estate in the lead-up to the season-ending showcase." The NFL took over a large section of N.Y. ahead of the 2014 Super Bowl and had more than 1,000,000 fans attend the four-day event (HERALD SUN, 4/27).