The AFL’s globalisation is set to take another leap with league bosses giving Greater Western Sydney the green light to investigate playing for premiership points in Los Angeles.
The ambitious “Aussie rules to Hollywood” script being written by the Giants would see the club play the opening round of the 2021 season in California.
Last year’s defeated grand finalists believe the historic game has the potential to become a permanent part of the Giants’ fixtures. “The AFL’s pursued an expansion agenda across Australia and with initiatives like the Shanghai game there’s clearly an intent to take the game to an international audience,” a club spokesman said.
“Exploring the possibility of taking a premiership game to California adds to the AFL’s international agenda. We think there is enough interest over there to draw a strong attendance.
“Some fans would attend through pure curiosity, but others would be genuinely invested in the game and know the club and the players.”
While the AFL has yet to commit to the proposal, the Giants’ LA story sits nicely within the league’s strategy of taking Australian football to the world. In 2017, Port Adelaide and Gold Coast played in China and the experiment is now in its fourth year, with the Power and St Kilda scheduled to play on May 31 at Jiangwan Stadium in Shanghai.
If the Giants can make the numbers stack up, AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan and the AFL Commission would look favourably at approving the latest footy export.
“The GWS Giants have raised the idea of a game in California with the AFL and, while there is no formal request, we are supportive of the club looking at options and whether there is an appropriate venue and the necessary support to make a game work,” an AFL spokesman said.
The Giants stressed that the plan should not be interpreted as the club taking its eye off the local ball. “Our priority first and foremost is to engage the communities of NSW and the ACT but with a strong focus on innovation. We’re always looking at different ways to grow our club, the game and the aspirations of our partners,” the spokesman said.
The Giants have strong links to LA through major sponsor Virgin Australia, which counts the Australia-LA route among it busiest. Additionally, a California-based Aussie rules team, the Orange County Giants, play in GWS jumpers. One of the driving forces behind the California strategy is a passion for American sports among Giants players, and the club feels it could benefit from having an association with the US in terms of business and football operations.
“Clearly it’s a sporting country, like Australia, albeit we haven’t meaningfully introduced AFL properly to date. We’re open to being the club that does just that,” the club spokesman said.
An opponent has yet to be selected, but several clubs have expressed an interest in taking on the Giants, sources said.
The Giants have yet to settle on a venue, but may opt for one of several cricket grounds that have been built in the LA region to satisfy a growing demand for cricket.
They are looking at boutique stadiums with a capacity for up to 20,000 fans. “Historically one of the main impediments to playing a game there has been finding a suitable venue but we believe there is a solution to that,” the spokesman said.
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