PORT Adelaide will host Melbourne at the historic Adelaide Oval in round 24 this season as part of an AFL investment of $12 million into South Australian football over the next three years.

The Power will be the major beneficiary with a total investment of $9 million.

A third of that money ($3 million) will come in the form of a grant, while the remaining $6 million will be loaned to the SA Football Commission, and in turn reinvested in Port Adelaide, as three separate grants over the next three years.

Following an agreement with the SA Football Commission announced on Thursday, the AFL said the funding for the clubs would ensure a smooth transition from AAMI Stadium to a refurbished Adelaide Oval in 2014.

Adelaide and Port Adelaide, financially hamstrung by a poor stadium deal and dwindling attendances at AAMI Stadium in recent years, had appealed for assistance from the AFL.

The agreement will see the first ever AFL match at the city-centre venue in this season's final round.