The concert is more popular than sporting events-imagine huge screens, exquisite lights and hanging LED displays-but it could be a secret weapon to help AFL attract millennials into orbit.
Professional Video Games called esports are already $1.
2 billion global industries, with 0. 239 billion people in the elusive 14-to-34-year age group.
AFL is now poised to venture into this emerging space to expand its brand exposure and increase sponsorship revenue.
The league is keen to host an eSports tournament at the Etihad Stadium, which took over ownership of the stadium in last October and wants AFL club to sponsor or create its own esports team, like AFL women and Super Tennis.
Forget the creases banners, kitsch theme songs and athletes covered with oil.
Esports are millennials playing high-
The prospect of thousands of cheering fans and millions of sponsors, prizemoney and endorsements has driven video games.
Darren Birch, general manager of growth, digital and audience at AFL, told the ferfax media that "eSports are sold out . ".
"They are a wonderful live event.
"There are more screens, more activities, more lights, and more LED displays.
Some of the games I 've seen show that esports are more of a concert --Like sports.
But that's why young audiences are attracted.
"All of this makes the experience bigger and bolder than your average sport.
To put it simply, eSports is a highly competitive video. gaming.
Tournaments are played online, sometimes at the stadium, where professional teams and professional players fight each other in video games such as League of Legends, Call and FIFA.
Top eight in Australia
Have hundreds of semi-level professional teams
Below are professional and amateur clothing.
According to the team owner who spoke to the ferfax media, the industry here is at a turning point in becoming more mainstream as it is in the US, Europe and Asia.
AFL aims to apply its expertise in managing elite sports competitions to eSports.
The league has been inspired by overseas sports clubs such as the football Paris Saint Seiya.
With the esports team, Germain and Schalke 04 and the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA.
In the case of PSG, esports athletes wear the club's blue, white and red to compete under the PSG badge.
Other sports clubs have more traditional sponsorship partnerships with esports teams.
Birch recently attended an eSports Conference in the United States, which will debut in Australia in Sydney this weekend.
The famous Intel Extreme Masters eSports championship.
It will be held at the Qudos Bank Arena with 21,000 seats and will be available at $260,000 at prizemoney.
The AFL wants to use esports to put its brands and club brands in front of millennials to expand audience and sponsorship revenue, Birch said.
"ESports are very powerful in millennials, so for us, it's about different contacts with the audience.
This is no different from the AFLW, where we become more relevant to the female audience.
"Whether that means football is somewhat relevant, but not entirely relevant.
We hope that AFL can bring a wider appeal to the club through esports and bring more sponsors, the income and consumption of your brand-whether it is a live food event or a live eSports event.
"Some people think e-sports is a sport, and some people don't think so.
Birch pointed out that American universities offer sports scholarships to budding eSports professionals, and Florida's world-famous IMG College also tests eSports professionals like athletes.
Fairfax Media learned that this is not the first time that the AFL world or Australia's mainstream sports world has crossed with the esports industry. Riot Games -
The global gaming giant makes the League of Legends of popular video games-
Engage with former AFL boss Andrew de metteru and current North Melbourne president Ben Barkley to invest in the Australian eSports team through their business.
Demetriou is chairman and chief executive of global sports technology business Barkley.
Both companies have a stake in the business.
The New Zealand Warriors recently held talks with some of Australia's top professional eSports to discuss possible sponsorship or investment opportunities.
Industry insiders say other AFL clubs have done similar investigations.