Etihad Stadium's AC/DC Double-Booking Resolved

AC/DC's opening homecoming concert dates at Melbourne's Etihad Stadium in February next year will go ahead after a double-booking dispute was resolved between the AFL and the venue's operators.
The tour's co-promoters Garry Van Egmond Enterprises and Chugg Entertainment had an existing agreement with the stadium's operators to host the opening three AC/DC concerts on 11th, 13th and 15th February. However, the AFL's directors claimed the venue had a contractual arrangement to host the pre-season NAB Cup tournament on the same dates, an argument which brought both parties into litigation.
With the resolution, the AC/DC concerts will take place as planned.
Van Egmond told Billboard.biz that "it was never a concern of mine, we always knew we had a watertight contract.
"I always knew, from legal advice, that we had a watertight contract and that the AFL was just playing a game to get a better deal."
Through the new arrangement, the 16 AFL clubs will split an extra $5.5 million in income from Etihad Stadium for a 15-year period ending in March 2025.
AFL Chief Executive Andrew Demetriou told reporters, "we'll schedule around AC/DC and we'll probably end up doing the NAB Cup over a two or three-week period for the first round."
Ticket sales for the AC/DC tour have been outstanding with well over 620,000 tickets sold for the 11-date run, which also visits Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide before concluding on 8th March at Perth's Subiaco Oval.
The resolution of the double-booking dispute appears to be part of a wide-ranging agreement between Etihad Stadium and the AFL, details of which are emerging.