Melbourne Cricket Ground
Melbourne Cricket Ground
was built in 1853 and is now one of the world's
greatest arenas combining history and emotion. Originally 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 then the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has
established a marvelous history that compares favourably with any other
in the world, hosting plenty of international cricket including the
first-ever Test and the 1992 World Cup final, countless VFL/AFL
Grand Finals, and the 1956 Olympic Games. Other
sporting spectacles that have been held there are Australian World Cup
soccer qualifiers, rugby league home and away matches and State of Origin,
international rugby union clashes and the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
Apart from its sporting events, the MCG has also witnessed many
blockbuster music concerts, and even Pope John Paul II held a mass
there when he visited Melbourne in 1986. People from all over
Australia, and indeed all over the world, speak reverently about the
MCG, a ground that is as well known as any other.
Victorian sports fans can recount ample examples of games and events
they have been part of at the ground, and it has a world-class
reputation as a leading multi-purpose stadium.
Apart from the magnificent sporting contests it witnesses, the
stadium also provides its visitors with world-class facilities,
and has a collection which includes some of the most priceless pieces
of memorabilia in Australian sporting history.
As well as a world record for the most people to
ever attend a baseball match during the 1956 Games, the VFL/AFL Grand
Final record attendance was an amazing 121,000 people for the 1970 decider
between Carlton and Collingwood.
With the recent redevelopment of the northern side of the stadium
complete, the MCG now boasts of a total capacity of 100,000.
Another fine feature of the MCG is its close proximity to the
Melbourne Central Business District, with just a short train or
tram ride required to reach the arena. |
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