The AFL may have to schedule Round 1 of the 2024 season without Marvel Stadium.
SEN reporter Tom Morris has revealed that Pink and the league have agreed for the musician to book out the stadium on Tuesday March 12th, two days before the scheduled start of the season.
While lucrative for the AFL, Morris reports that it will cause a fixture headache for Round 1.
“She’s playing February 24th and February 25th at Marvel Stadium, it’s after the Big Bash and before the footy,” Morris told SEN Breakfast.
“Pink’s ensemble was keen to have a third show at Marvel Stadium on Tuesday March 12th – very close to the AFL season given the season would start on March 14th.
“The AFL initially was very hesitant to have Pink playing the week before Round 1, but they have been offered a very nice sum of money and they will have Marvel Stadium on that Tuesday.
“So Pink will play a third show in Melbourne after she goes around the country and come back to Marvel Stadium on a Tuesday night and that will probably mean that the stadium is out of action for Round 1 next year altogether.
“Unless they can get the turf back in three or four days, which is very difficult. The same happened this year with Ed Sheeran and Optus Stadium, but it just shows that money talks.
“I’m told that the financial windfall from one concert at Marvel Stadium is very close to the windfall from an AFL Grand Final, so three Pink concerts is very lucrative for the AFL.”
The AFL scheduled two games at Marvel Stadium in Round 1 of this season.
They dealt with a similar situation, with Ed Sheeran concerts impacting the turf at the MCG and Optus Stadium.
Sheeran performed on the 12th of March at Optus Stadium, with the AFL deeming the venue unavailable for Round 1 given the six-day turnaround.