AFL Grand Final - Venue and Schedule

Venue and Schedule

The Grand Final has always been played in Melbourne and all but nine have been at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The venues used on these nine occasions were:

• Junction Oval - 1898, 1899 and 1944 (due to the MCG housing US troops during World War II)
• East Melbourne Cricket Ground - 1900
• Lake Oval - 1901
• Princes Park - 1942, 1943 and 1945 (due to the MCG housing US troops during World War II)
• Waverley Park - 1991 (Due to the MCG being redeveloped)

Under an agreement between the Melbourne Cricket Club, the MCG Trust, the AFL and the Victorian State Government, the AFL Grand Final will be played at the MCG every year until at least 2034.

The Grand Final has traditionally been played on the final Saturday in September each year and is often referred to in popular Australian culture as the "One day in September". The match has, on occasion, been played in early October, and in 2000, to avoid a clash with the Sydney Olympics, it was played on the first Saturday in September.