AFL fans heading to the league's Gather Round in South Australia over the weekend are boosting tourism in the South East region, but some say it is a missed opportunity to hold a match in Mount Gambier.
All nine of the AFL's matches in round five are being held in Adelaide and Mount Barker.
About 50,000 fans are expected to visit SA for the round, including 15,000 by car, most of whom will use the Dukes Highway that connects Adelaide and Melbourne.
The two main towns on the Dukes Highway are Keith and Bordertown, in the Tatiara District Council area.
The council's communications and economic development officer, Kelly Hutchinson, said bunting, posters and signage had been put up to welcome visitors.
The Sunrise TV program did a live cross from Bordertown during the week, when all 18 of the AFL mascots posed for photos in the town.
Ms Hutchinson said most people were likely to stop at towns along the way only for food and petrol, but she hoped they would come back to see the white kangaroos at Bordertown, the Clayton Farm Heritage Museum and other attractions in the area.
"Hopefully, they come in and they try either delicious food or coffee or just come for a look around and maybe think, one day when they've got a bit more time, it would be a great place to stop for a few days," she said.
Cellar doors in the Coonawarra region have already been bustling over the Easter weekend.
The Victorian school holidays started a week earlier than SA's, which start tomorrow.
Coonawarra Vignerons Association executive officer Hugh Koch said it had been a busy week, despite the rainy weather.
"It was really pleasing to see," he said.
Winemaker and Ottelia co-owner John Innes said his restaurant had been booked out during the week.
"From all reports there's lots and lots of interstate visitors and it would make sense for a lot of people to come via Coonawarra and maybe just extend it a little bit, so they're not just seeing the footy, but they're seeing a bit of regional South Australia as well," he said.
'Lost opportunity'
When the Gather Round was announced in November there had been hope one of the matches would be held in Mount Gambier, South Australia's second-largest city after Adelaide.
"Victorians would travel just over the border and it would be a massive economic and tourism-related input into our incredible city," Mount Gambier independent MP Troy Bell told state parliament at the time.
Instead, two of the matches will be held at inner-suburban Norwood Oval and another at Mount Barker – a town in the Adelaide Hills that is sometimes considered a outer suburb of Adelaide – on top of the six at Adelaide Oval.
Newly appointed Liberal upper house MP Ben Hood, who hails from Mount Gambier, said it was a "lost opportunity" considering the city's proximity to the Victorian border.
He said extra stands could have been added to Mount Gambier's Vansittart Park football oval so it could host an AFL match.
The state government will have to bid for the Gather Round to be held in SA again next year.
Mr Hood said it should again consider the Blue Lake city for the match.
"I think that would be a huge opportunity for our region, a huge opportunity for our state, and it would show the commitment to the regions as well," he said.
"So if there's an opportunity that presents itself in the future, I'll be the first to be banging on the table to ensure that it comes to our region."
Labor MP Clare Scriven, who is based in Port MacDonnell, near Mount Gambier, said it would be "fantastic" to host more regional games if SA hosted the Gather Round again next year.
"As I understand it, the games need to be in the vicinity of each other, so that's a bit of a limitation," she said.
"But I think the overall message is that we've got it here in South Australia — it's a huge boost economically and a great opportunity to showcase our state to the rest of the country."
