The select group of fans lucky enough to secure a golden ticket to Saturday night’s Showdown between Port Adelaide and Adelaide have been warned that any scalping will see them stripped of membership.
The South Australian government has ruled that 2000 fans can watch from the Adelaide Oval stands in accordance with social distancing, with an additional 240 corporate supporters in private rooms.
Of the regular tickets, 1475 have been allocated to Port Adelaide members, 475 to Adelaide members and 50 to Adelaide Oval members, following negotiations between the two clubs.
Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas said tickets would be allocated to Power members via a ballot system, with only 11-game access members able to register for a chance to secure a “golden ticket”.
Thomas emphasised there would be harsh penalties if anyone looked to on-sell or scalp their tickets.
“No – we’ll be screening that and I’ll be sending a note out today saying if any of that occurs, you’ll lose your membership,” he told SEN radio on Wednesday.
“It’s too important, we have to do this in the right spirit.
“There’s a lot of creativity being shown around people trying to get a ticket – I’ll give you that.
“But once they’ve been allocated, we’d be expecting them to turn up of course and do the right thing.”
Fans will be on the second level of the Adelaide Oval with seats spaced out, while they will also face temperature checks on their way into the ground.
“It’s a bit of a test case to make sure that a stadium can execute this effectively and hopefully if we get it right, it might open up other opportunities around the country,” Thomas said.
Adelaide will also use a ballot – drawn from members who are committed for 2020 – to select their 475 fans.
Meanwhile, GWS have received permission from the NSW government to have 350 people attend their AFL clash with North Melbourne on Sunday.
The Giants will host members and corporate supporters across different function rooms at Giants Stadium, but the stands will remain empty.
Fans are still not permitted to attend games in Victoria or Queensland.
