Gather Round contract talks "held up" by State of Origin

Is State of Origin holding up confirmation of Gather Round staying South Australia?

While SA Premier Peter Malinauskas remains confident that the state will be able to continue hosting the event beyond 2026, questions are being asked about why the AFL is holding up a decision.

The AFL's football festival has taken place in Adelaide since its inception in 2023 and has proven to be a runaway success with fans.

And with an economic return of $288.1 million to the South Australian economy across the three years, it has become one of the most important events for the state.

With its success, other state governments have looked to pry it from South Australia.

With the South Australian Government now looking at extending their deal, it seems a desire to include State of Origin in the next deal could be the hold up.

“I don’t want to overcomplicate it, but I would like it (Origin) to be in there,” Malinauskas told SEN.

“If I take my hat off as Premier and just think about it as a footy fan, I think State of Origin has got a huge opportunity before it.

“What footy-loving member of the public wouldn’t love to see the best of the best play.

“But you can’t just have Victoria vs Western Australia every year. You’ve got to have a South Australian go of it, and if there’s a South Australian go at it, we should have that game played here (in Adelaide).”

So how could it work?

"They’re desperate to get it done," Jon Ralph told SEN's Point of View. "Everyone leaving wants to rebook. What’s complicating this is they want to put State of Origin in this deal as well.

"The AFL doesn’t know when it will be or where.

"They could have a handshake agreement. What the AFL and Adelaide want is a legacy agreement."

State of Origin football only returned to the calendar in February this year after a 27-year hiatus. The Vics v WA clash - held in Perth - was considered a huge success and now it seems Adelaide wants in on the action.

"Origin only works mid-season," Ralph continued. "There is a way to get that done next year which is with a normal round one.

"The best way for this; have Gather Round in Round five or six, then carve out a weekend for a football carnival with probably two Origin clashes - WA v Allies and SA v Vic."

Malinauskas has already noticed a difference in these conversations compared to their initial ones in 2023, with the AFL more willing to discuss terms.

One of the main talking points surrounding a potential deal has been its length, with the Premier hoping that any potential deal will give them security to truly invest in it.

“I think one or two years would be unfortunate because it wouldn't allow the government to invest in the event, right?” Malinauskas said.

“I don’t want to sound ungrateful or presumptuous, but I think South Australia is in a better bargaining position than we were this time three years ago.

“Give us security of tenure, then you give us the capacity to invest in it.

“But I can't look at South Australians in the eye and say we're choosing to invest in another facility or another ground or another concept unless I've got the security for that.”

When asked by Kane Cornes whether a four or five-year contract would be ideal, Malinauskas admitted that it didn’t need to be that long.

“It doesn't have to be that long,” he added.

“This one has been three years, and we’ve been able to pull off the Barossa (Park venue).

“And the biggest winner out of that has been the people of the Barossa Valley, who’ve got an excellent facility 51 weeks of the year.

“But we did that over the back of three years, so that could be an option.”