Eddie McGuire to urge AFL to move Grand Final to twilight timeslot following success of US Super BowlJay Clark
Herald Sun
February 9, 2016 AN AFL legend says a twilight Grand Final is inevitable within five years, as debate rages on whether the league should move the big game in the wake of the spectacular Super Bowl.
The league is again under pressure to improve its entertainment package after a dazzling performance from some of the globe’s biggest acts in California.
British rockers Coldplay were joined by Bruno Mars, Mark Ronson and Beyonce for a 15-minute extravaganza that was watched by more than 100 million people worldwide.
The show attracted rave reviews from AFL stars and fans, who called on the league to jazz up its annual offering, headlined by artists Ellie Goulding and Bryan Adams last year.
Brisbane champion Jonathan Brown said a twilight Grand Final was inevitable within five years.
He said television broadcasters want a later start to capture a bigger audience.
“Of course it should be (twilight) It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” Brown said on Nova 100.
“It will be a twilight Grand Final at some stage because Channel 7 will keep demanding it because of the amount of money they pay for the TV rights and the AFL want as much money as they possible can.
“The dam wall is about to crack. It will crack soon ... let’s say five years.”
AFL commercial operations general manager Darren Birch, who was at the Super Bowl, said the AFL spent significantly less on the Grand Final than the NFL.
“They (NFL) do it so well but are on a completely different scale due to their level of investment — the spend would be in excess of millions of dollars and the three acts perform for free — probably $10m of talent at half time with Coldplay, Beyoncé and Bruno Mars,” Birch said.
“Also worth noting they change the half-time break to accommodate the show and it is significantly longer than the normal season.
“Something in our game we would not really contemplate.”
Birch said the AFL Grand Final entertainment was a key focus area for the league every year.
He said the AFL’s post-game celebrations were “much-cleaner” than the Super Bowl presentation.
“The AFL has discussed the entertainment at length each year and we maintain that the game is and should always remain the centrepiece of our day,” he said.
“In comparison I think the AFL does do our retiring greats very well with the motorcade and the crowd and broadcast recognition.
Pre-game entertainment at the MCG during the 2008 Toyota AFL Grand Final between the Geelong Cats and the Hawthorn Hawks at the MCG.
“We do post game presentation to the team and the fans well and is much cleaner and structured than the Super Bowl post game presentations.
“Our post-game concert and team presentation is getting strong each year and has become one of the fan highlights of the day.”
Birch said the league endeavoured to keep the big game affordable for families.
“It’s interesting to note the ticket prices with most tickets to fans being in the thousands of dollars opposed to our prices,” he said.
“You still see families and children at our game as it remains accessible — there are very few children at the Super Bowl.”
Birch said the daytime start for the Super Bowl did create a different atmosphere to previous night time finales.
“The game started in daylight and the half time show was done close to twilight which was different to last year (at night) and the effects and impact of daylight did change the atmosphere inside the stadium,” he said.
“It reinforces the challenges we have with entertainment and performances during the day with the Grand Final.”
The Premier says when it comes to a twilight Grand Final it’s more about the half-time talent than the timing.
Daniel Andrews has told Channel 7 it’s more about the entertainment than the timing.
“I think if Beyonce was half-time for a day match or half-time for a twilight match it’s always going to be a spectacular show,” he said.
“That’s ultimately a matter for the AFL and they’ve got some difficult choices to make, but there’s arguments for and against.“But again, as I said, we’re just bracing ourselves and trying to get over Meatloaf.”
The AFL was famously savaged in 2011 after Meatloaf’s half-time flop.
Geelong great Cameron Ling, who was at the Super Bowl on his honeymoon, tweeted: “OK... They do it very well here!”
Former teammate Cam Mooney replied: “Well that just made #meatloaf look even worse.”
Collingwood president McGuire, who attended Super Bowl 50 yesterday, said the AFL should move the Grand Final to a twilight timeslot in line with the NFL decider.
He said a later start would provide an electric night-time backdrop at minimal cost and was a “bleeding obvious” solution to the AFL’s Grand Final entertainment problems.
“If we want to do entertainment, particularly on a budget, you need all the tricks of showbiz and there is no better way than using darkness, lights and smoke,” McGuire said.
“It doesn’t have to be in the dead of night, just not in the blaze of sunshine.”
McGuire said a twilight start would also boost the AFL’s bid to grow the game in developing interstate markets, saying the Grand Final should be broadcasted “when they will see it”.
Former Hawk and Suns defender Campbell Brown agreed with McGuire.
“AFL must go twilight. If u stand still u get run over. C’mon Gill (McLachlan),” Brown tweeted.
The AFL has not responded.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/eddie-mcguire-to-urge-afl-to-move-grand-final-to-twilight-timeslot-following-success-of-us-super-bowl/news-story/fc6f6be23aa2d8aef381c2ac6d9f18ac
