THE AFL will consider the rare options of a Marvel Stadium final or a Sunday fixture should two Victorian teams host semi-finals this season amid the first ever NFL game to be played on Australian shores.
However, Geelong's GMHBA Stadium is not expected to be an option should the Cats host a semi-final, with the League's chief executive Andrew Dillon confident of finding a Melbourne-based solution.
It was confirmed on Thursday that this season's NFL clash between the LA Rams and the San Francisco 49ers would be played on Friday 11 September at the MCG, with the fixture set for a 10.35am kick-off local time.
It will coincide with semi-final weekend on the AFL calendar, with the MCC confident in its ability to prepare a footy final at the 'G on the Saturday night – around 30 hours later – should a Victorian side host a game that weekend.
However, should two Victorian teams host semi-finals, Dillon suggested that either Marvel Stadium could step in to host a match on the Friday night, or a game could be played at the MCG on the Sunday leading into preliminary final weekend.
Docklands hasn't hosted a final since Sydney beat St Kilda in an elimination final in 2011, while there hasn't been a non-Covid Sunday finals fixture since North Melbourne beat Richmond in an elimination final in 2015.
The last Sunday final played in the second week of September or beyond came even further back in 1995, while Docklands has only ever hosted six elimination finals in its history.
"We've been liaising with the NFL, Visit Victoria and the MCG for a period of time," Dillon said on Thursday.
"We've got options here. We've got Marvel Stadium, the MCG will be available on Saturday and Sunday. And, in the corresponding weekend last year, there were no finals in Melbourne.
"The MCG is an incredible stadium, it's a multi-purpose stadium and the 'G has a great record of turning around the stadium for a multitude of uses.
"We've got options and that's the important thing. It's amazing for Melbourne that we've got two incredible stadia that we can use."
When asked whether GMHBA Stadium could be used for a semi-final, Dillon responded: "We've got two incredible stadia in Melbourne."
The MCG faced a similar turnaround last year when the Australian Wallabies faced the British Lions in front of 90,307 people on a Saturday night in July, before Collingwood faced Richmond at 2.10pm the following Sunday.