The game in Melbourne<\/a> will be the furthest away from the United States that a regular-season NFL game has been played, with the make-up of the city \u2013 and the fact it has a 100,000-seat stadium \u2013 and its history of high-profile sporting events making it the obvious choice for the league\u2019s first foray to this part of the world. <\/p>\n \u201cIt made sense for us to be in the mix in one of the best sporting cities that Australia has. But really, the MCG is also a huge reason why we chose to play there. I mean, 100,000-seat crowd, it\u2019s a beautiful stadium, it\u2019s well connected to the city, Melbourne really offers our fans, not just the experience they\u2019ll get from the NFL, but a really rich cultural experience as well. We want it to be a full week of activity and then conclude with the game. Melbourne can offer that to us.\u201d <\/p>\n The recent State Of Origin rugby league match in the city served as an example of what the NFL could expect when it arrives, with a crowd of more than 91,000 turning up in the MCG for the match. <\/p>\n And getting to the venue is a breeze. From my accommodation at Lanson Place in the heart of the city, it\u2019s a scenic 20-minute walk through Fitzroy Gardens \u2013 largely in a straight line to Yarra Park and the MCG. For those who don\u2019t want to walk, a train to Richmond Station is easily navigated. <\/p>\n For pre-game food and drinks, the suburb of Richmond is a short train ride from the CBD with several pubs, bars and eateries serving as pre-game hubs for fans. Walking down the main street, some of the bars are already advertising their pre-NFL opening hours \u2013 some as early as 7am with the fixture getting underway around 10.35am local time. <\/p>\n Ahead of State Of Origin, one of those bars, the London Tavern was standing room only, with maroon and sky-blue jerseys filling the room. <\/p>\n From there, it was an easy, atmospheric walk to the venue among the cheering fans. <\/p>\n Similar scenes are expected when the NFL hits the city, with Offord expecting to see jerseys from all 32 teams around the stadium and opportunities for those who don\u2019t have tickets to the game to get involved with activations and activities throughout the week. <\/p>\n \u201cThe demand that we had around the game is a real testament to the growth that we\u2019re seeing in the market<\/a> and it\u2019s exciting. I think we\u2019d love obviously everyone that wants to come to be able to come and that\u2019s just not the reality. So we will be putting on other events surrounding the game to ensure that people that are coming to the game and people that aren\u2019t have a chance to do something NFL that week and be part of the action.\u201d <\/p>\n State of Origin also served as an indication of what the NFL game might look like being played on the oval, given it\u2019s also played on a rectangular pitch, however with the NFL field being narrower, there will likely be more empty space on the sides.<\/p>\n Visit Victoria chief executive Brendan McClements said has was able to pitch the city to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell at a game in England in 2024, and it was such major events that attracted the NFL to Melbourne, but particularly the success of the Australian Open \u2013 held walking distance from the MCG at Melbourne Park. <\/p>\n \u201cIn the conversation I\u2019ve had with the commissioner and, in fact around the announcement date, one of the things that was clearly articulated was the number of people in his world who\u2019d visited the Australian Open tennis. And so he was constantly getting feedback from his social network around how Melbourne turns up, how Victoria turns up at these events,\u201d McClements said. <\/p>\n \u201cNot that I knew it fully at the time, but the NFL\u2019s and the NFL commissioner\u2019s mindset was \u2018yeah, I think we can trust Melbourne with what we do because what we see and what I hear through the tennis in particular gives me a great deal of confidence that Melbourne is the right place for us to find a home\u2019.\u201d <\/p>\n There was plenty of interest in the fixture from the moment registrations of interest for tickets went live. Offord said that the registry pushed 165,000 fans, and tickets had sold well for the game with only a small number still available. <\/p>\n McClements said the event had sold tickets in 35 countries and despite the proximity, New Zealand was only the second-biggest international market, behind the United States. <\/p>\n \u201cThe US numbers have surprised on the upside for us. We didn\u2019t quite realise the demand was there for the US. We\u2019ll have to wait for the game to take place, but the expectation is again 90 to 100,000 people. I think we\u2019ll see a very significant out-of-state representation in that crowd,\u201d McClements said. <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know the veracity of this number, but one of the San Francisco 49ers team members the other day, one of the executives there, their sense is there may be as many as 10,000 coming out of America for the game. <\/p>\n \u201cThat would be a fantastic result. A very high-yielding market from an economic perspective, it\u2019s one of our highest-yielding markets, American tourists. We\u2019ve used the NFL to help us secure some more aviation services, so Delta was able to be brought into the family to provide some additional capacity into Melbourne as part of the overall strategy behind how we work on the US. <\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s likely they\u2019ll stay a little bit longer than an interstate visitor as well. So, we\u2019ve got very high expectations and yeah, we\u2019ve been pleased at the incredible response to the NFL that we\u2019ve seen from not just here in Australia but globally.\u201d <\/p>\n And while a return to Victoria in the future was locked in, Offord would not rule out New Zealand as a potential host nation in the future. Like Australia, New Zealand has been a market teams have invested in, with the Rams, Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles and reigning Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks \u2013 who have NZ-born running back George Holani on their roster \u2013 having the country as their international home markets.<\/a> <\/p>\n New Zealand has also seen a strong uptake of the NFL\u2019s Flag Football programme, which Offord said had been a key driver in the game\u2019s growth across both Australia and New Zealand. <\/p>\n \u201cYou know what, honestly, never say never,\u201d Offord said of the NFL hosting a game in New Zealand in the future. <\/p>\n \u201cWe are expanding our games dramatically as you\u2019ve seen from just one game in 2007 to now nine international games this year and I expect that over the course of the next few years that inventory will expand even further. Whether New Zealand gets thrown into the mix is TBD, but I think certainly from what I\u2019ve seen as the league is really putting effort into expanding globally, anything could really happen at this point.\u201d <\/p>\n The writer travelled courtesy of Visit Victoria. <\/p>\nThe NFL will host a game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on September 11. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
State Of Origin provided an indication of what a rectangualr field looks like at the MCG, though the NFL field is smaller. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
A large contingent of American fans are expected to visit Melbourne for the Los Angeles Rams’ clash with the San Francisco 49ers at the MCG. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
New Zealand-born running back George Holani won a Super Bowl title with the Seattle Seahawks earlier this year. Photo \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n