Opinion Have the MCC and the AFL ruined the MCG?

[Occidental]

Does anyone have any old photos of the old southern stand like before the great southern stand was put in.

It had intrigued me the old southern stand with its long fibro black roof and old wooden plank style seats.

Also of the the old MCC members as well.

Amazing back then like in the 1970s and 1980s.

I posted a picture earlier in this thread. It’s post #12.

 

[CrowToon]

Completely overrated ground. Much loved by sycophant fans whose teams play there but as some have already pointed out its due to 'history' and other such things whilst deeply interesting to learn about, does **** all for the average punter wnd their gameday experience.

At the end of the day the MCC and now the AFL having a reserve and the other variety of restricted seating it is simply a temple to the haves and have nots.

A stadium which hogs the GF and delivers that experience to 1/3 of actual fans of the teams? In the bin.

Ill take a stadium that is for the people over that shit anyday.

 

[MagpieJoel]

Agreed. Pales in comparison to Docklands these days.

Hahahahaha

 

[Lockyer24]

?

Like one of the Plasma TVs that hang from the roof on Lvl1?

No it’s not a plasma tv, it’s a wall sized thing that’s the size of about 9 TVs put together

 

[hilly]

doubt it

i have been in plenty of GF line ups and those aren't guests.

MCC is full of low ebbs of society. The idea it's a toffs society is laughable.

I hear ya Hirdy. It isn't exclusive or elitist at all.

On SM-S901E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Partridge]

What makes a great stadium?

I've had the luxury of visiting some of the big shiny new stadiums in the US that some are raved about while others are shit on as being poor. The interesting thing I found was that for the average attendee the poor one's weren't that bad while the one's raved about as trend setter stadiums weren't real much better than the poor one's.

IMO the Shane Warne stand still stacks up well with most modern stadiums but does have some flaws particularly with the upper levels with concourse space and amenities.

The fact is more people go to the football today partly because of the way the MCG and modern stadiums are built. Yes the old grounds had a certain character that lacks in the concrete monstrosities they build today. But most lacked a comfort people expect when paying for entertainment in this day and age.

Do they? I'd be curious to see more about that. Considering that most games are scheduled to be on their own in one city most of the time, whereas in the past 6 games were on at exactly the same time in exactly the same town, I'm not sure more people go at all.

Additionally, if you wanted to compare the population of Melbourne from say 1985 and see how many went on a Saturday afternoon, versus the population now and how many go to MCG/Docklands/Geelong even on a Saturday, the proportions would be very interesting to look at.

 

[deck]

Do they? I'd be curious to see more about that. Considering that most games are scheduled to be on their own in one city most of the time, whereas in the past 6 games were on at exactly the same time in exactly the same town, I'm not sure more people go at all.

Additionally, if you wanted to compare the population of Melbourne from say 1985 and see how many went on a Saturday afternoon, versus the population now and how many go to MCG/Docklands/Geelong even on a Saturday, the proportions would be very interesting to look at.

Attendances jumped considerably in the 90's when clubs moved away from the suburban grounds and made the MCG home. Also 95% plus who attend over a weekend would be unique viewers not people attending multiple games.

Also on population the majority of growth has been off migration over the last 20 years compared to the the 70's and 80's where it was newborns.

The fact is more Women and Children attend now than they did in the old VFL days.

 

[Underarm]

Do they? I'd be curious to see more about that. Considering that most games are scheduled to be on their own in one city most of the time, whereas in the past 6 games were on at exactly the same time in exactly the same town, I'm not sure more people go at all.

Additionally, if you wanted to compare the population of Melbourne from say 1985 and see how many went on a Saturday afternoon, versus the population now and how many go to MCG/Docklands/Geelong even on a Saturday, the proportions would be very interesting to look at.

Population Melbourne 1985: 3 Million.
VFL attendance in Vic 1985: 2.6 Mil (21k per game)

Population melbourne 2024:5.3 Million
AFL attendance in Vic :4.6 Mil 46k per game

 

[BF Tiger]

The MCG would be a far superior ground if it had an internal concourse that you could walk the entire way around the ground.

 

[Partridge]

Population Melbourne 1985: 3 Million.
VFL attendance in Vic 1985: 2.6 Mil (21k per game)

Population melbourne 2024:5.3 Million
AFL attendance in Vic :4.6 Mil 46k per game

Thanks.

So right now, the proportion of attendees in Victoria is roughly 0.86% of the population. Per game.
In 1985, the proportion of attendees in Victoria was roughly 0.7% of the population. Per game.

Except of course, in 1985 there were 6 games at once. So the percentage was actually 4.2%. You could be generous and multiply the current figures by 2-3 depending on if there are games at MCG/Marvel/Geelong on the same day. You still only end up with 2.58% maximum. Still significantly less than what occurred earlier. A reminder to not believe all the hype and spin that's relentlessly beaten into the brains of modern fans.

 

[Captain_Bender]

Best and most soulful ground in the league, all other grounds feel very fake and plastic

 

[jimbler]

The MCG would be a far superior ground if it had an internal concourse that you could walk the entire way around the ground.

Or a greyhound track.

 

[Partridge]

Does anyone have any old photos of the old southern stand like before the great southern stand was put in.

It had intrigued me the old southern stand with its long fibro black roof and old wooden plank style seats.

Also of the the old MCC members as well.

Amazing back then like in the 1970s and 1980s.

Here's a few that cover the evolution of the ground through the years (not just the Southern Stand):

1870s - at some point, taken from Government House in South Yarra. The very first MCC "Pavilion" is that white building on the left. So the view is pretty much from the outer wing.




1895 - Australia v England. So the left hand building is the long gone "Smoker's stand", and the building to the right of that is the 2nd MCC Pavilion. The next one was called "The Grandstand" and lasted until they Olympic stand was built in the mid 1950s. Apparently the clock on the outside of the MCC Pavilion is still inside the members' to this day.




1905 - great photo this one. So from left to right it's the then new Grey Smith stand, then the 2nd MCC Pavilion, the "Grandstand" with an added second level at either end, then the scoreboard at the Punt Road end. On this side are two new stands - the Harrison Stand (on the right), and the Wardill stand (on the left ). Both made way for the Southern Stand in the late 1930s.



1928 - bit smudged by still great. So now you can clearly see the "new" 3rd MCC Pavilion that everyone can remember (it was only knocked down in 2004, with the Grey Smith stand immediately to the left, and the "Grandstand" to the right. You can see the Wardill and Harrison stands still on the Southern or outer wing, with terracing behind the goals at the Ponsford end. Interesting the only scoreboard is almost behind the goals at the Punt Road end (I think that scoreboard is now in Canberra).




1937 - now we're starting to look a lot more familiar. The old Southern stand has just been built. Getting much closer to how we all remember the ground now.





1960s - I guess you'd call this the final transition before the modern era. The Olympic stand is now where the old "Grandstand" was, and the only older stand left is the Grey Smith stand (with the red roof) next to the MCC Members.