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August 12, 2026 \u2014 12:05am<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n AAA<\/p>\n If Melbourne employers note an increase in sickies on a Friday morning in September, American football might well be to blame.<\/p>\n The MCG will host Australia\u2019s first in-season NFL game on September 11, and demand for a piece of the action is high, with tickets for the game selling out in the first half hour of release<\/a>.<\/p>\n Pubs and hotels across Melbourne are preparing for an influx of NFL fans from overseas and interstate to watch the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers.<\/p>\n Todd Gurley, a former Rams player, is in Melbourne as a Marriott Bonvoy ambassador ahead of the event, which is expected to attract a crowd of 100,000.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve talked to a lot of people; they\u2019re just super-excited about it,\u201d he said from the penthouse suite of the W Hotel. \u201cI mean playing at the G is just legendary … I know everybody\u2019s pumped.\u201d<\/p>\n Related Article Gurley said the game was \u201ca little bit early\u201d, starting at 10.35am, a time aimed squarely at a US television audience, but said fans could expect a good contest in what would be the first NFL game of the season.<\/p>\n \u201cThe NFL did think highly of Melbourne to give them two good teams instead of sending two trash teams over here,\u201d he said. \u201cI would say that they got two winners.\u201d<\/p>\n Gurley said Australian fans watching the game should be prepared for a long game that would last a minimum of four hours.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be a lot of TV timeouts,\u201d he said. \u201cThere will be hydration breaks out there, we call it, but it will give the fans more time to go grab a beverage.\u201d<\/p>\n Gurley and fellow Marriott ambassador Dylan Alcott said they expected Australians to get into the spirit early, inspired by the tailgate parties at NFL games in the United States out of cars and trucks parked around the ground.<\/p>\n \u201cI can safely say Australians and Melburnians don\u2019t mind tailgating at 6am,\u201d Alcott said. \u201cThey will find a way.\u201d<\/p>\n There will be no public parking, and therefore no tailgating at the MCG car parks, but an NFL Kickoff Festival will be held at Melbourne Park with NFL exhibits, flag football clinics, watch parties and an American food village. The Glasshouse in Olympic Park will host Australia\u2019s Best Tailgate.<\/p>\n Marmont restaurant at Crown will be a base for the Los Angeles Rams during the event, and owner Grant Smillie said the venue would show the game and then host an after-party for Rams fans.<\/p>\n Related Article \u201cWith the novelty of an early morning start, by 2pm there will be a lot of people looking for sustenance after having breakfast beers,\u201d Smillie said. \u201cI think it is going to be an unofficial public holiday.\u201d<\/p>\n Over at the Waterside Hotel, manager Tommy Ellison said the pub was serving a special American-inspired menu of Buffalo chicken wings with blue cheese ranch, mozzarella sticks, spicy fried chicken burgers, glazed barbecue pork ribs and buckets of Budweiser beer.<\/p>\n \u201cIt used to be a bit of a niche sport for Australians to follow,\u201d he said. \u201cBut people are really getting into it.\u201d<\/p>\n This masthead revealed that the multi-year contract secured by the Victorian government is likely to cost taxpayers between $10 million and $15 million per game<\/a>, but Ellison said he thought the price was worth it.<\/p>\n \u201cThe timing\u2019s a bit weird,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is very early on a Friday, so that does mean that people aren\u2019t going to drink as they would on a Friday or Saturday night. From what we\u2019re seeing here at least, I do believe it will be a really, really big weekend for Melbourne and for the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n Data released by the state government shows fans from more than 35 countries have already bought tickets to the game, and almost 50 per cent of spectators at the MCG are expected to be from interstate or overseas.<\/p>\n Hotel occupancy in the Melbourne CBD is up 39 per cent for the night of the game compared to the same day last year.<\/p>\n Minister for Major Events Anthony Carbines said events such as the NFL game were \u201ceconomic powerhouses\u201d, filling hotels, supporting jobs and putting Victoria on the world stage.<\/p>\n The game will be screened as a standalone Thursday night football fixture in the United States, and Netflix\u2019s global broadcast will reach more than 200 countries.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen viewers see Melbourne on their screens, they book flights and plan their next holiday here,\u201d Carbines said.<\/p>\n Start the day with a summary of the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n![\"Former](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/b620a79fe592d48c5347fd6ba08051c2fea40e5b.jpeg\")
Former NFL star Todd Gurley at Marriott Bonvoy\u2019s W Hotel. Gurley played for the Los Angeles Rams, who will take on the San Francisco 49ers at the MCG in September.Jason South<\/p>\n![\"NFL](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1786468096_780_3cb59efccf49f4d72d7401ab0327f2d4d8036838.jpeg\")
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Fans tailgate in the car park before a Dallas Cowboys game in Arlington, Texas. Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Ready](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775805971_547_7ebefe1b018a3445d4ca6ef7e0290f148bd6f2c4.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Todd](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/d9c2117a9d8bad5001b89f003d2da735cabd3960.jpeg\")
Todd Gurley in his playing days for the Los Angeles Rams. Getty Images<\/p>\n