Opinion Have the MCC and the AFL ruined the MCG?

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A lot of the things that people are whinging about are simply necessary if you want to have a stadium that can fit 100k people to modern safety standards and in relative comfort.

You can afford to pick and choose features more when you only have to host half as many people.

But Melbourne clearly needs a very large stadium. In 2024 there were 23 events that drew over 75k people. That’s just less than one a fortnight…

16 AFL games
4 days of test cricket
3x Taylor Swift

So the demand is there for a very large stadium. People might like other features and designs but they don’t hold the crowds required so aren’t possible.

And in terms of “character”, a lot of that is based on what happens there and the memories. People are longing for the the good times they had there. In 50 years time, the stadium will be different and today’s kids will be fondly remembering going to the old G in 2025
They could fit over 100,000 people there in 1978.
 
A lot of the things that people are whinging about are simply necessary if you want to have a stadium that can fit 100k people to modern safety standards and in relative comfort.

You can afford to pick and choose features more when you only have to host half as many people.

But Melbourne clearly needs a very large stadium. In 2024 there were 23 events that drew over 75k people. That’s just less than one a fortnight…

16 AFL games
4 days of test cricket
3x Taylor Swift

So the demand is there for a very large stadium. People might like other features and designs but they don’t hold the crowds required so aren’t possible.

And in terms of “character”, a lot of that is based on what happens there and the memories. People are longing for the the good times they had there. In 50 years time, the stadium will be different and today’s kids will be fondly remembering going to the old G in 2025
You've got to keep updating stadiums or you end up with the Gabba. The old Adelaide Oval had bucket loads of character but it had barely been touched since Larwood and Jardine played there, I miss some of that but it's more than made up for by what we have now.
 

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The capacity is only relevant for one day per year really.
There were 30 sporting events that cleared the capacity for any other AFL/Cricket grounds in 2024, plus the added benefit of cheaper ticket prices.

Adelaide oval has protected their hill and city views, SCG has protected their heritage stands. MCG is the only one that has priortised the spectator, at the cost of looking a little plain.
 
When the MCC did the big renovation and jumped into the next century, I feel it was a wasted opportunity.

When using the ground, cricket runs north-south whilst footy runs east-west because the ground is a circle not an oval or oblong.

It is my theory (and you can poo-poo it as much as you like) that during the three stage renovation process, they should have realigned the ground so that it was always north-south.

So you understand where my head is at, this change would have made the Brunton Ave wing the southern goal. One of the benefits to this change is that one team's players would not have to look directly into the sun during daytime games.

Furthermore, if they followed the natural curve of that wing (forming the southern end of the playing surface) and then went 'straight' along the new wings and added on another curved northern end, the playing area would be dramatically increased which would have to assist with the flow of the game as well as reducing congestion.

With a bigger area, the boundary line could have been brought in another 10m or so (like they originally had out at Waverly) which definitely was a benefit for player safety etc.

From a spectator perspective, the seating capacity could have been increased as well as they pushed the ground another 30-40m towards Wellington Pde to create the complete shape. It may have also resulted in the reduction of some of the nosebleed seats right at the top of the stadium too as they may not have been neccesary (I'm not an engineer or architect so bear with me there).

Overall, an oval or oblong shaped venue running north-south with a larger playing area and seating capacity could have been an inspired move if there was some lateral thinking ............ but as usual, there wasn't.
 
They could fit over 100,000 people there in 1978.

And people stood all day, on a six pack of cans if they were shorter, they got soaking wet if it rained or burnt to a crisp in the sun, and you stood in line for the toilet while rivers of piss flowed past you as people up the line gave up waiting and pissed against the wall.

Oh and the whole thing was a shocking fire hazard.

The capacity is only relevant for one day per year really.

As I pointed out above, there were 23 events last year that drew over 75k. It needs to be very big.
 
And people stood all day, on a six pack of cans if they were shorter, they got soaking wet if it rained or burnt to a crisp in the sun, and you stood in line for the toilet while rivers of piss flowed past you as people up the line gave up waiting and pissed against the wall.

Oh and the whole thing was a shocking fire hazard.



As I pointed out above, there were 23 events last year that drew over 75k. It needs to be very big.
It only really needs to be about 85,000 to 90,000 capacity, then there would be much more room to retain some character.
It wouldn't hurt to have about 5,000 in standing room either, that would make more space.
Unless there's at least 40,000 there , the ground looks empty and lacks atmosphere imo.
 
It only really needs to be about 85,000 to 90,000 capacity, then there would be much more room to retain some character.
It wouldn't hurt to have about 5,000 in standing room either, that would make more space.
Unless there's at least 40,000 there , the ground looks empty and lacks atmosphere imo.
There were 9 AFL games over 85k last year plus another 3 that were close to it. 85k is generally a sell-out especially during H&A. If you limit the capacity to 85k a lot of those crowds become mid to high 70's. Tickets also now become more expensive

I'm pretty sure there is about 5k for standing room

So we cater for the clubs that can't get a crowd rather than the ones that can
 
You've got to keep updating stadiums or you end up with the Gabba. The old Adelaide Oval had bucket loads of character but it had barely been touched since Larwood and Jardine played there, I miss some of that but it's more than made up for by what we have now.
The should have kept those old Pissers under the members stand. They were always freshly painted and fitted hundreds of blokes all pissing at once.
 

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It only really needs to be about 85,000 to 90,000 capacity, then there would be much more room to retain some character.
It wouldn't hurt to have about 5,000 in standing room either, that would make more space.
Unless there's at least 40,000 there , the ground looks empty and lacks atmosphere imo.

There is plenty of standing room, it’s just behind the seats.

There’s not more because quite simply, people don’t want it. It either doesn’t sell, or if it’s a capacity event, it’s the last thing to sell out.

I get that some people prefer it - I like it myself a lot of the time. But I don’t actually think it’s badly located now - it’s right next to food, bars and toilets which makes it simple.

But people don’t want it en masse. They want a seat.
 

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Opinion Have the MCC and the AFL ruined the MCG?

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