The city of Adelaide is putting up 'full house' signs as AFL boss Gillon McLachlan says the response to the inaugural Gather Round is beyond expectations.
Accommodation is almost booked out as the South Australian capital welcomes more than 50,000 visitors for what Premier Peter Malinauskas describes as a festival of footy.
Adelaide Oval, inner suburban Norwood Oval and Mt Barker in the Adelaide Hills will host all nine AFL games from Thursday night to Sunday night.
More than 190,000 tickets have been purchased and seven of the nine games will be played at sold-out stadiums.
"This is an incredible football state so we had great confidence," McLachlan told reporters in Adelaide on Wednesday.
"But it probably has exceeded expectations though ... it's just an incredible position we're in.
"We have got people coming from all over the world and all over Australia and ... there's an incredible energy in this town."
Premier Malinauskas, on behalf of Adelaide, fought off bids from Sydney and Perth for hosting rights for the AFL's inaugural experiment based on the NRL's Queensland-based Magic Round.
"From South Australia's perspective this is more than just a footy round," Malinauskas told reporters on Wednesday.
"It's also an investment attraction opportunity. It's an occasion for the rest of the country to have its eyes on our state.
"We're full employment. We have got a lot of economic opportunity coming our way in the future with big, bold and dare I say brash plans.
"And we want the rest of the country to have their eyes on us, we lavish the opportunity ... the story we have to tell involves a sporting sense but also an economic one as well.
"Hopefully we put on such a big event that it's almost impossible for the AFL not to come back here in the future."
McLachlan was non-committal about Adelaide again hosting next year, with the Gather Round all-but certain to become a permanent fixture on the AFL calendar.
"We look well-positioned but we have got to execute," he said.
"We couldn't be more pleased with the partnership we have had with the South Australian government ... football feels pretty good with the way it's rolling out in South Australia."
Malinauskas' Labor government refused to say how much it paid to entice the AFL, though some reports say it was about $14 million.
But SA's Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison said the economic benefit to the state would far exceed that speculated figure.
"We are just going to wait and see," Bettison told AAP on Wednesday.
"Someone said when the NRL do their Magic Round, it delivered in excess of $20 million to the Queensland economy.
"But I am expecting a lot more than that."
Bettison said hotel occupancy rates on Friday and Saturday night were set to be a record for the city.
"To be honest with you, I am not surprised by the numbers," she said.
"It's the inaugural Gather Round ... to have all nine games in South Australia is unique and we know people are looking for unique opportunities.
"And we know people have kind of discovered South Australia a little bit more ... we don't want to be a hidden secret any more.
"As minister for tourism, I want to go out there and sell us ... we want people thinking about us, we want to turn their heads."
