The Australian Football League has announced Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre as the venue for the 2011 NAB AFL Draft to be held on Thursday 24 November.
NSW Minister for Sport and Recreation, Graham Annesley, welcomed the AFL’s decision to hold the Draft in Western Sydney.
“Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre is a focal point for regional, national and international sport in Western Sydney, offering the AFL the perfect venue to hold its draft next month,” he said.
This year’s event will see over 400 staff, players and management from the 18 AFL clubs head to Sydney for the occasion along with a media contingent expected to number 100 journalists and support crew.
The NAB AFL Draft will also coincide with a number of key meetings to be held in Sydney across the week including the AFL Commission, Club Football Managers and Club CEOs.
AFL General Manager National and International Development David Matthews said the Sydney Olympic Park Sports Centre will be a great venue for this year’s NAB AFL Draft.
“Having the opportunity to host the event in Sydney is the perfect lead-in for the GWS Giants and it is certainly shaping up to be a promising night for the newest AFL club. The Giants have 11 of the first 15 selections.”
“The Sports Centre also provides us with the ability to host 1500 viewing seats within the venue which will enable club supporters and members of the public to have the chance to be part of the NAB AFL Draft live,” Mr Matthews said.
The event will be broadcast live across Australia on Fox Sports. In 2010 Fox Sports’ broadcast attracted an audience of over 125,000 viewers and is considered to be the AFL’s second largest event in terms of public interest outside of the Grand Final.
The NAB AFL Draft is the annual draft of new unsigned players by AFL football clubs. In the Draft, clubs receive selections based on the position in which they finish on the ladder during the season. The NAB AFL Draft is held each year at the end of November, to allow the draftees to finish their school examinations before joining clubs.
NSW draftees in recent years have included Lenny Hayes (St Kilda), Jarred McVeigh (Sydney Swans), Isaac Smith (Hawthorn), Kieren Jack (Sydney Swans), Tom Hawkins (Geelong), Craig Bird (Sydney Swans) and Justin Koschitzke (St Kilda).
The NSW Government through Destination NSW is proud to support the 2011 NAB AFL Draft.
AFL.com.au will have extensive live coverage of the 2011 NAB AFL Draft. As announced, every pick will be live on Draft Tracker with photos, exclusive video, stats and AFL National Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan's appraisal of the selected players. Follow the Draft live on AFL.com.au and on Twitter using the hash tag #afldraft
