There's just one month to go until Melbourne makes sporting history.
It will be the first city in the world to host a tennis Grand Slam, a Formula 1 Grand Prix and an NFL Regular Season game.
The Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers will face off on Friday 11 September in front of a packed MCG crowd, with tens of millions more people watching on around the world.
Momentum is already building with September on track to be a record for demand in the city.
Fans from more than 35 countries have already bought tickets to the game.
Almost 50 per cent of spectators at the MCG are expected to be from interstate or overseas.
Hotel occupancy in the Melbourne CBD is already up 39 per cent for the night of the game.
A survey of more than 2,000 adults across Australia conducted by research agency Kantar found that:
- Four-in-five believe it will benefit local businesses in Melbourne and surrounds
- 81 per cent said the NFL game in Melbourne will increase visitor spending in Victoria
- Two-thirds agree it will support regional Victoria through increased travel and tourism
- More than half said Melbourne is the best city in Australia to host the game.
The game will be a standalone 'Thursday night football' fixture in the United States.
Netflix's global broadcast will reach more than 200 countries.
February's Super Bowl audience peaked at more than 137 million viewers and an average of almost 19 million watched NFL Regular Season games in 2025.
Momentum extends beyond the stadium, with Victoria hosting world-class conferences during game week including SportNXT, the Intersekt Fintech Festival, Data Center World and The AI Summit Australia.
Business and trade leaders from across the United States will attend, helping Victorian companies build new partnerships and strengthen market ties.
The United States is a priority market in the Visit Victoria 2030 Strategy - accounting for 215,000 visitors each year who spent a total of $430 million in Victoria and stayed 2.5 million nights.
As stated by Minister for Major Events Anthony Carbines
"Major events like the NFL are economic powerhouses - they fill our hotels, support our jobs and put Victoria on the world stage."
"When viewers see Melbourne on their screens, they book flights and plan their next holiday here."
As stated by Visit Victoria CEO Brendan McClements
"Major sporting events are a catalyst to build momentum and opportunity right across Victoria - and we are seeing that in real time with NFL visitors discovering what Victoria has to offer both for business and pleasure."
"Visitors and Victorians are about to get a front row seat to the greatest six months ever in Australian sport. The NFL Melbourne Game is followed by events like the AFL Grand Final, the Melbourne Cup Carnival, the Australian Open Golf, the Boxing Day Test, Australian Open tennis, the Formula 1 Grand Prix and the 150th Anniversary Test."
As stated by Accommodation Australia (Victoria) General Manager Dougal Hollis
"When Melbourne hosts events of this scale, the economic benefits are felt across the supply chain - including at hotels across the state, which are going to be full to the brim."
