The lift in occupancy began with the elimination final on September 4 attended by 96,680; then the preliminary final on September 19 with 97,836 attendees; and finally a crowd of 100,023 watched the Brisbane Lions’ comeback win over Fremantle Dockers in a nail-biting 2026 grand final on September 26.
For the record, the NFL match between San Francisco 49-ers and the LA Rams on September 11 at the MCG drew a sell-out crowd of 100,021, driving a hotel occupancy of 89.4 per cent the night before.
The Victorian Government has signed a contract with the NFL to have at least two more games at the MCG over the next four years.
The teams playing in AFL finals series matches do make a difference to Melbourne’s accommodation result. This was evidenced by last year’s AFL grand final between the Brisbane Lions and Geelong Cats, which lifted hotel occupancies to only 77.9 per cent, compared with the all-interstate grand final this year that drove occupancies across the city beyond 90 per cent.
And while the MCG continues to anchor many major events in Melbourne, including international cricket, major events in other venues surrounding the city also provide a hotel occupancy boost and a lift for the local economy, including the Melbourne Cup racing carnival, the Australian Open tennis and the Formula 1 Grand Prix. This year’s F1 Grand Prix saw hotel occupancy rise to, at its highest, 94.5 per cent on the Saturday night.
