Brisbane’s NRL and AFL Preliminary Finals anticipated to generate $10 million for local economy

With up to 90,000 tickets having sold-out collectively for a full house at Suncorp Stadium and The Gabba for today’s Broncos’ and Brisbane Lions’ home NRL and AFL Preliminary Finals, $10 million is anticipated to be generated for the local visitor economy.

Brisbane’s unprecedented Preliminary Final double-header is delivering a bonanza for accommodation providers with almost 100% occupancy tonight and up to 90 per cent last night.

As tourism operators move into the second week of a month of spring school holidays, accommodation occupancy on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts is around 80%.

Accor Pacific Chief Executive Sarah Derry enthused "Accor is thrilled to see Brisbane's tourism thriving this weekend. The city is buzzing with excitement, and visitors from near and far are flocking to experience all that Brisbane has to offer.

"As a leading hospitality provider, Accor is proud to contribute to this vibrant atmosphere by offering exceptional accommodation options and ensuring a memorable stay for our guests."

Riverlife Adventure and Event Centre Director Sam Jarmy shared “Our adventure tours are fully booked both mornings on Saturday and Sunday.

“Day tours are almost full and are expected to fill up with an increase in numbers by 30% already on the previous week.”

Brisbane’s finals festival and the school holidays are predicted to add $1.5 billion to Queensland’s visitor economy.    

Up to 30,000 visitors in jerseys and guernseys have stormed into Brisbane, many of them from New Zealand and Melbourne for the city’s NRL and AFL finals festival.

Since Thursday, 117 flights have touched down in Brisbane from Melbourne and 34 from New Zealand filling almost 27,500 inbound seats.

Spectators at Suncorp Stadium and The Gabba are predicted to get through 13,600 buckets of hot chips, 6,800 hot dogs, 4,500 pies and sausage rolls, 110,000 beers and 17,000 bottles of soft drink and water.

From grounds keepers to venue and catering staff, the home NRL and AFL finals double-header means jobs for Queenslanders including more than 2,000 at Suncorp Stadium and The Gabba.

For AFL Grand Final week in Melbourne, Tourism and Events Queensland is launching a new billboard campaign highlighting Queensland’s ‘front row’ and ‘box seat’ tourism experiences. 

Brisbane’s finals festival follows a record-breaking year of world-class sport and entertainment at Stadiums Queensland venues.

During 2022-23, a record 4.9 million spectators watched sporting and concert events at Stadiums Queensland’s major venues, generating $1.1 billion for the State’s economy and supporting 8,400 good Queensland jobs.