| The MCG, The "G" | |
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| Location | East Melbourne, Victoria |
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| Coordinates | 37°49′12″S 144°59′0″ECoordinates: 37°49′12″S 144°59′0″E |
| Owner | Government of Victoria |
| Operator | Melbourne Cricket Club |
| Executive suites | 109 |
| Capacity | 100,024 |
| Record attendance | 130,000 est (March 15, 1959 – Billy Graham Crusade) |
| Field size | 171 m x 146 m[1] |
| Surface | Grass (Oval) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1854 |
| Construction cost |
$150,000,000 (1992 Southern stand redevelopment) $460,000,000 (2006 Northern stand redevelopment) |
| Tenants | |
| Australia national cricket team Victorian Bushrangers (1851–present) Melbourne Football Club (AFL) (1858–present) Richmond Football Club (AFL) (1965–present) Essendon Football Club (AFL) (1992-present) (part time) Collingwood Football Club (AFL) (1993–present) Hawthorn Football Club (AFL) (2000–present) Melbourne Stars (BBL) (2011–present) Carlton Football Club (AFL) (2014–present) (part time) |
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The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne,Victoria, and is home to the Melbourne Cricket Club.[2][3] It is the 12th-largest stadium in the world, the largest in Australia, the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, the largest cricket ground by capacity, and has the tallest light towers of any sporting venue. The MCG is within walking distance of the city centre and is served by theRichmond railway station, Richmond, and the Jolimont railway station, East Melbourne. It is part of theMelbourne Sports and Entertainment Precinct.
Internationally, the MCG is remembered as the centrepiece stadium of the 1956 Summer Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games and two Cricket World Cups: 1992 and 2015. The open-air stadium is also famous for its role in the development of international cricket; it was the venue for the world's first Test cricket match in 1877, between Australia and England. The annual Boxing Day Test match is one of the MCG's most popular events. Referred to as "the spiritual home of Australian rules football", it hosts AFL matches in the winter, with at least one game (though usually more) held there each round. The stadium fills to capacity for the AFL Grand Final in late September.
The MCG, also known as "The G",[4] has hosted other major events, including International rules footballmatches between Australia and Ireland, international rugby union matches, State of Origin series (rugby league), FIFA World Cup qualifiers and international friendly matches, serves as the finish line for the Melbourne Marathon and also hosts major rock concerts.
Until the 1970s, more than 120,000 people sometimes crammed into the venue – the record crowd standing at around 130,000 for a Billy Graham evangelistic crusade in 1959, followed by 121,696 for the 1970 VFL Grand Final. Grandstand redevelopments and occupational health and safety legislation have now limited the maximum seating capacity to approximately 95,000 with an additional 5000 standing room capacity, bringing the total capacity to 100,024.
The MCG is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register[5] and was included on the Australian National Heritage Liston 26 December 2005.
