Premier Steven Marshall said this morning that Oval crowd capacity would increase for Friday night’s game as well as Melbourne’s Saturday night clash with Brisbane.

Attendance at the ground has been capped at 15,000 since the Showdown on August 7. Tickets for the extra seating will go on sale to members this afternoon.

“I know this is going to be something that fans will absolutely love to hear and we’ve had confirmation of 20,000 at Adelaide Oval (for) Friday night and Saturday night,” Marshall said.

“We also know that it’s really good for jobs in South Australia – jobs at the Adelaide Oval, but also jobs in the CBD as people finish their time at the Adelaide Oval, they move into the CBD, they spend their money and that’s great for jobs in the CBD.

“I know for a fact that any tickets that go on sale will be immediately snapped up – there’s no doubt about that whatsoever.”

Port Adelaide said the additional 5000 tickets will go on sale to club members at 2pm.

“The club is thrilled more of its members will have the opportunity to attend the match, however it understands that due to the reduced capacity many members will still miss out,” the club said in a statement.

The Adelaide Oval said the extra fans have not changed the stadium’s existing COVID Management Plan with SA Health.

“The additional fans we are welcoming to both AFL finals at Adelaide Oval this weekend will be seated across the stadium, ensuring patrons can adhere to appropriate social distancing,” an Adelaide Oval spokesperson said.

“From a patron perspective, there is no change to our existing COVID Management Plan and fans will still need to wear a mask, arrive at their designated time and maintain social distancing.”

Geelong players and staff have been in hard quarantine in Victoria since Monday and were due to fly into Adelaide today.

The Cats will fly from Adelaide to Perth after the match regardless of the result.

The crowd increase comes after the AFL on Wednesday announced it had chosen Perth over Adelaide to host this year’s Grand Final in the event the MCG can’t be used due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Marshall said the decision was “very disappointing” but the State Government had “put its best foot forward” with a proposal to allow 30,000 to attend the Adelaide Oval.

“This was our opportunity to get the grand final to the fabulous Adelaide Oval,” he said.

“Obviously the Western Australian Government was in a position to offer more than 60,000 people (and) we went in, I think, with a competitive position of around 30,000 seats at the Adelaide Oval.

“But it’s very hard to give assurances this far out when we’re in the middle of a major emergency declaration.”