AFL Grand Final returns to the MCG with biggest crowd of modern era
Saturday’s AFL Grand Final attracted a crowd of 100,024 – the official capacity of the Melbourne Cricket Ground – and the largest crowd in 50 years.
The 2022 season-decider returned to its traditional home after two years away from Victoria due to Covid (Brisbane in 2020 and Perth in 2021), while the game returned to its traditional afternoon start time of 2:30pm.
While the game itself was a fizzer, with Geelong defeating the Sydney Swans to the tune of 61 points, the pre-match entertainment headlined by Robbie Williams was widely praised as one of the best of all time.
The record MCG crowd for a sporting event stands at 121,696 for the 1970 VFL Grand Final between Carlton and Collingwood, while 118,192 attended the following year’s Grand Final between St Kilda and Hawthorn.
Since then, seven attendances have exceeded the 100,000 mark for sporting events at the ground – all being AFL Grand Final’s since 2008.
Saturday’s attendance of 100,024 which is 100% of the MCG’s capacity, exceeds the previous best of 100,022 recorded for the 2018 AFL Grand Final.
The MCG’s capacity features seating for 95,000 spectators with the remainder being standing room.
The capacity of the iconic stadium appears likely to increase in future years, with the Shane Warne Stand to potentially be rebuilt boosting capacity to 105,000.
