Crowd numbers hit 10, 412 fans for Western Bulldogs' one-point loss to Adelaide Crows on Saturday afternoon. This tops the benchmark set when the Bulldogs hosted 10,087 spectators for the first AFL premiership season match on Ballarat turf in August 2017.

Fans speaking to The Courier travelled from Melbourne, regional Victoria and Adelaide for the school holiday showdown.

This comes two weeks after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews officially confirmed Mars Stadium would host athletics for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria. The arena is set to expand from a 12,000 capacity to 30,000, with some temporary seating structures, as a showpiece for the international multi-sport spectacle.

The Bulldogs' first Ballarat home game for the season proved a massive test for the city's major sporting precinct with Lake Wendouree hosting a Ballarat Football Netball League home fixture, junior basketball championships and Ballarat Miners opening their NBL1 season on Saturday night.

Traffic was telling with cars packing the stadium vicinity to the edges of the central business district along Creswick Road and for blocks on either side of Norman and Howitt Streets almost two hours before opening bounce.

City of Ballarat acting mayor Amy Johnson said it was great to see the city absolutely buzzing well into the evening.

"The Commonwealth Games is a great opportunity for the city to secure additional sporting infrastructure that will provide a legacy for the city and hosting bigger events in the future," Cr Johnson said.

"We know the more seats we have at Mars, the more we can attract bigger, headlining game in not only AFL games but more national level events."

Cr Johnson said AFL in Ballarat offered a chance to see footballers up much closer than in Melbourne stadiums and she could hardly wait until four years' time with the chance to see international athletes, up close, in Commonwealth Games action.

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Melbourne mum Briony Lanigan said she could definitely picture bigger sporting events for Ballarat.

This was Ms Lanigan's first visit to Mars Stadium, bringing her family.

"This is awesome," Ms Lanigan said. "When we were walking in my husband and I were saying there is a good future here for footy.

"It's going to be great for the Commonwealth Games. We've got family and friends up here and we're thinking how we can plan a big day out and maybe stay over night."

Adelaide-based Danielle Rolton, a Crows' fan, travelled with her young family from their home a day early. Her husband and children are parochial Bulldogs fans and they found the drive easy - one they would consider come Commonwealth Games time - with stops through regional Victoria in towns like Ararat.

Grace, Cassidy and McKayla Donnellan travelled from Underbool in the Mallee for the football. Their mum secured accommodation in Bendigo because Ballarat was booked out.

Ballarat juniors Zachary Mathews and Billy Drew loved having AFL in their backyard. Both big 'Doggies fans, Zachary said it would be "awesome" to have bigger AFL matches land on Mars.

Billy, sporting a Bailey Smith-style hairdo, enjoyed seeing his favourite players up close.

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