THE AFL is expected to make a call today on whether Mars Stadium will host this weekend's Adelaide versus Brisbane Lions game after South Australia's two teams made a dash across the border on Wednesday.
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Mars Stadium is on standby to host Saturday afternoon's match if South Australia's five-person COVID outbreak grows in the next 24-hours.
The Crows and Port Adelaide chartered a flight on Wednesday afternoon to Victoria. While the Power were always planned to play in Melbourne this weekend, the Crows were scheduled for a home match on Saturday afternoon.
The club will now be forced to wait for its state government to see whether it will be allowed to 'fly-in and fly-out' of Adelaide on game day. That will only be known once further outbreak details are known.
What does appear certain is the AFL will schedule next weekend's GWS Giants versus Gold Coast clash in Ballarat as Sydney is expected to still be in the grip of its two-week lockdown.
AFL fixture boss Travis Auld told reporters that Mars Stadium is being discussed as an option for future rounds, with next week's Giants-Suns match appearing a likely candidate.
"We're very fortunate here in Victoria, where we have a number of venues," he said. "I know that Mars Stadium is really important for that region, as is GMHBA (to Geelong), so you may see a game in Ballarat."
Both the MCG and Marvel Stadium are booked on Saturday while GMHBA Stadium is now hosting games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Ballarat's civic leaders have thrown their support behind Mars Stadium hosing as many matches as possible.
City of Ballarat chief executive officer Evan King said the council was ready to open its doors to cater for any club that required a home.
"We've been in in ongoing discussions with the AFL and the Victorian government about Mars Stadium's availability for further AFL matches this season," King said.
"We've advised that Ballarat is ready and available if required.
"Mars Stadium is a top-level facility and players have consistently rated the playing surface as one of the best in the competition.
"We're confident Ballarat is well placed to assist with a revised home and away fixture and we're keen to help."
The Crows-Lions match is currently fixtured to start at 4.40pm.
However should the match be played in Ballarat - on what is predicted to be an eight-degree day - the AFL is open to moving it to an earlier time slot.
