South Australia's AFL teams will open and close next year's Gather Round with blockbuster matches at Adelaide Oval.
The Adelaide Crows will play Carlton on the Thursday night, with Port Adelaide taking on St Kilda on Sunday evening, creating a local bookend for the Festival of Footy which runs from April 9 to 12.
The rest of the fixture is also stacked with big games, with Collingwood playing Fremantle at Adelaide Oval on Friday night, followed by two more matches at Adelaide Oval on Saturday - Essendon and Melbourne in the early afternoon and Hawthorn and Western Bulldogs in the evening. These two games will be ticketed separately.
The picturesque Barossa Park, in the heart of South Australia's wine country, will host a match on Saturday afternoon when North Melbourne lines up against the Brisbane Lions, before a twilight game that night at Norwood Oval between the Sydney Swans and the Gold Coast Suns.
Norwood Oval will also host a Sunday match when the Geelong Cats take on West Coast Eagles, with Barossa Park staging the GWS Giants and Richmond clash on the same day.
AFL CEO Andrew Dillon said Gather Round got "bigger and better each year".
"Gather Round has become more than a weekend of footy, it's a celebration of community, connection and everything we love about the game," Mr Dillon said.
"Barossa Park delivered a magnificent experience last year, showcasing the best of what the region has to offer and this time around it is set to deliver another two big games.
"We know visitors travel from all over Australia to experience the buzz of Gather Round with fans not wanting to miss out and everyone wanting to be a part of it."
This year's Gather Round broke records, with the nine matches attended by almost 270,000 football fans. It delivered a record economic result for South Australia providing a total economic contribution of $113.9 million, up 24 per cent on 2024.
Tickets go on sale for members on Wednesday 3 December, with general public on sale on Thursday 4 December.
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