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Another bitter AFL battle in South Australia has been won by Port Adelaide, leaving the Adelaide Crows seething.
The AFL has gifted Port Adelaide hosting rights for the first AFL game to be played at a redeveloped Adelaide Oval next season.
The Power will host the Crows, who fought to have the match as their home game.
Adelaide’s chief executive Steven Trigg took a thinly-veiled swipe at Port and the decision.
“I suppose the AFL understands that an Adelaide Football Club home game for the opening would have definitely sold out,” Trigg said in a statement on Friday.
“Port’s Showdowns don’t sell-out, so this is a chance for the AFL to maximise the returns with a full house.”
Trigg said the Crows, who entered the AFL in 1991 to thwart a bid by Port Adelaide’s SANFL entity to join the national competition, deserved the initial hosting rights.
“We were the first AFL team in South Australia. We have the clear majority of support in this state,” he said
The 2014 AFL program will be released on October 31, with all games in Adelaide moved from AAMI Stadium to Adelaide Oval.
The league had committed to a Port-Crows match as the first game at Adelaide Oval, which is currently undergoing a $530 million redevelopment to transform the city venue to a 50,000 capacity stadium.
The AFL said its decision to award Port the hosting rights for the first game would “maximise attendances across both Showdown matches” next year.
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