Clubs playing home games at Etihad Stadium this season will be rewarded with attendance bonuses in a new supporter incentive system introduced by the AFL.
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St Kilda, which attracted more than 36,000 to its first home game against Melbourne last week, is understood to have been the first winner of the new crowd bonus in a deal which could be worth as much as an annual extra $200,000 to some tenant clubs.
Although the AFL had indicated clubs were unlikely to receive any financial benefit in their first season under the new ownership agreement, the tenant clubs learned in recent days that they would win bonuses for reaching certain crowd triggers.
In a move applauded by the clubs as a good will gesture, Essendon, St Kilda, the Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne and Carlton stand to reap in total six-figure bonuses this season for their efforts in lifting attendances at specified games.
The Bombers, who are expected to remain the stadium's anchor tenant under a new deal, have been offered the special incentive for their first Etihad home game against Melbourne next month.
The Bombers will also be rewarded should they reach new attendance triggers against Brisbane and Adelaide later this season. The AFL has told the clubs they will set two triggers at most games. For example the Bombers will be rewarded against Melbourne should they attract 40,000 fans to the game with a further bonus should the crowd figure reach, for example, 45,000.
The league has cherry picked certain games for each club during 2017 in a pro rata system linked to each club's number of home games at Etihad which has traditionally delivered the worst match returns in the competition.
Under the deal the bonuses will mean extra revenue in addition to the match returns and will be set referencing the home club attendance expectations, motivating
clubs to work to put extra efforts into marketing and promoting specific games.
The Saints, with 11 home games at Etihad the most of all the clubs, have been told they will be given the opportunity to win bonuses at five home games while Carlton, with just five Etihad games in total, have been offered incentives for fixtures games against North Melbourne and Hawthorn.
The AFL is still finalising the unexpected new deal with several clubs looking to renegotiate the agreement put forward this week by the league's chief financial executive Ray Gunston.
The league CFO who is overseeing the new ownership financials and who held talks on Wednesday with the Saints, North and the Bulldogs to kick off negotiations for new improved tenancy agreements, confirmed the selective crowd incentives had been put in place. Gunston said the bonuses had been offered with a view to expanding the system next season under the AFL's prospective new deals with Etihad's tenant clubs.
"The AFL's investment in Etihad Stadium will deliver for the whole industry," said Gunston, "and we want to create the best experience for our clubs and fans.
"In particular, we are very keen to make sure the tenant clubs have an improved outcome which encourages supporters and build great crowds."
