MCG

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is arguable Australia’s greatest sports stadium with a rich history and a total capacity of 100,000. A major redevelopment of the stadium’s Northern stands completed in 2006 further enhanced the status of the famous venue.

The MCG is situated in the world-famous Melbourne Sports Precinct, just a short walk from Melbourne’s CBD, which also includes Rod Laver Arena, John Cain Arena and AAMI Park. The ground primarily plays host to Australian football and cricket, plus regular major events including football, rugby union, rugby league and concerts are also staged at the stadium.

The MCG was built way back in 1853 when the then 15-year-old Melbourne Cricket Club was forced by the government to move from its former site because the route of Australia’s first steam train was to pass through the oval. Since that time, the MCG has seen many major redevelopments with the latest completed in February 2006. The Northern Grandstand was the 14th stand to be erected at the ground and replaced the existing Ponsford, Members and Olympic Grandstands - names which are retained in the new 55,000-capacity structure.

Occupying the southern side of the ground is the Shane Warne Stand (formerly known as the Great Southern Stand) which opened in 1992. With a capacity of approximately 45,000, this structure set many benchmarks for the construction of sporting stadiums in Australia. The stand received a comprehensive upgrade in 2012 to bring the standard of facilities up to the level of those in the Northern stand.

Many famous events have been held at the MCG. Most famous of all is the 1956 Olympic Games in which the 'G was the main stadium, hosting athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies. Athletics returned to the stadium 50 years later for the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Major events on the annual calendar include the AFL Grand Final and Boxing Day Test match, while significant events in its history include the 1992 & 2015 Cricket World Cup Finals, 2020 & 2022 T20 World Cup Finals, FIFA World Cup Qualifiers, Rugby Union Bledisloe Cup, Rugby League State of Origin and Football during the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

The record attendance at the MCG is 121,696 for the 1970 VFL Grand Final between Carlton and Collingwood. Since the Northern Stand redevelopment, the record crowd stands at 100,024 for both the 2022 and 2023 AFL Grand Finals. At various stages throughout its history, the MCG has held world record crowds for AFL, cricket, rugby league, rugby union and even baseball.

The venue hosts major concerts, which have recently included Ed Sheeran in 2023 which attracted 217,500 fans over two nights, while Taylor Swift will perform three concerts in 2024 which are expected to attract around 260,000 fans. Other artists to play at the venue include U2, Madonna, Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, Rolling Stones, Guns N' Roses, Eminem and Billy Joel.

The maximum capacity of the MCG is 100,024, comprising of around 95,000 seats and 5,000 standing room spaces. The playing arena is 174 x 149 metres from fence to fence. The ground is lit by six massive light towers, with additional lighting situated under the stadium roof. Standing 75 metres high, the towers were built in 1984 and were first used for an event in February 1985, while they were replaced with new LED lighting in 2019.

The MCG was the first Australian stadium to feature a full colour video screen (the first was installed in 1982) and it now has two huge LED high-definition scoreboards, which measure 25.24 metres wide and 13.17 metres high, or approximately 332 square metres, which were commissioned in December 2013. There is also LED ribbon signage on the fence and first floor surrounding the playing arena, which also incorporate two scoreboards.