Etihad Stadium will again become an Essendon cauldron this Sunday when the Bombers take on the best in the competition, Geelong.
Coach Matthew Knights is expecting a sold-out crowd of more than 50,000 fans and says the players will be helped by a huge Essendon presence and match-day theming.
In addition to the theming unveiled before the Round 7 Hawthorn game (see details below), on Sunday there will be a louder air-raid siren to welcome the team onto the oval, louder audio on the main bridge from previous games, a massive new banner will run along the side of the bridge and Essendon champion Paul Salmon will be interviewed on the arena for 10 minutes from 1.40pm.
There will also be an Alpha Locker Room near Gate 5 which will give all fans the chance to go inside and watch a message from Knights and see game highlights. Plus, you have the chance to play Nintendo Wii against an injured Essendon player from around 1:35pm and win a Samsung MP3.
At add to the atmosphere and help create a home-ground feel, simply wear red and black to every game and show the boys your support.
Match-day theming will be at all Essendon home games at Etihad Stadium in 2009 and involves:
Outside Stadium:
Eight 3.5m images of the players will be erected on the footbridge to Etihad Stadium and audio and lights will also be utilised. Pre-recorded player messages will be beamed on the big screens inside and outside the ground, the pillars around the stadium will have player images and a written message will be beamed onto the stadium wall outside gate 3 (at night).
Inside Stadium:
The pillars and roof inside the stadium's main entrances will have player images and messages, there will be interviews with the ground announcer pre-game, and the crowd is being called on to wear red and black to theme around the ground. To also generate excitement, when the team is about to come out to play, the crowd will be notified by an air-raid siren. There will also be crowd activities throughout the breaks including a quiz.
