The MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) — Footy’s Cathedral

The Melbourne Cricket Ground isn’t a footy ground. It’s the footy ground. Every Australian Rules supporter has a personal mythology built on the place — the first time they walked up the race, the first Anzac Day blockbuster, the first Grand Final, the first time they watched a game from the Olympic Stand and thought, “yeah, right — this is why we don’t move it to Sydney.” If footy is a religion, the MCG is St Peter’s, the Western Wall, and your nan’s lounge room rolled into one.

The History: From Brunton Avenue Cow Paddock to 100,000-Seat Cathedral

The MCG was founded in 1853 as the home of the Melbourne Cricket Club. The first cricket match was played on the current site (more or less) in 1854. The first football match? 1859, when Tom Wills and a few mates from Melbourne Grammar codified the rules of Australian Rules and the MCG became the first proper venue for the new game. So when people tell you the MCG is footy’s spiritual home, they’re being literal — the rules were essentially written on this paddock.

The first major grandstand, the Old Members’ Pavilion, went up in 1854. It was demolished, rebuilt, and demolished again over the following century. The Northern Stand was rebuilt for the 1956 Olympics (the MCG was the main athletics stadium and hosted the opening and closing ceremonies). The Great Southern Stand replaced the old Members’ Stand in 1992 (88,000 capacity, with the iconic blue trim that’s now slightly less iconic). The 2006 Commonwealth Games saw the Northern Stand torn down again and rebuilt as the current massive horseshoe — the structure you see today.

Capacity peaked at 121,696 for the 1970 Grand Final between Carlton and Collingwood. With modern seating and safety regulations, the MCG now seats 100,024. Still the biggest stadium in the southern hemisphere.

The Footy: Why The MCG Is The Only Stadium That Matters

The MCG hosts every AFL Grand Final under the current lease, which runs until 2057. NSW has lobbied for years to grab one. The MCC’s response: come back when you’ve got a 100,000-seat venue and a hundred years of history. Grand Final crowd records since the seating reduction:

• 2008 — 100,012 (Hawthorn vs Geelong)
• 2017 — 100,021 (Richmond vs Adelaide)
• 2019 — 100,014 (Richmond vs GWS)
• 2022 — 100,024 (Geelong vs Sydney)

The MCG hosts most Anzac Day Essendon-Collingwood blockbusters (annual crowd around 90,000), the Queen’s Birthday Melbourne-Collingwood game, the Dreamtime at the ‘G (Richmond-Essendon), the King’s Birthday clash, and the bulk of finals. Every Victorian club except Hawthorn (Marvel-based since the 90s) and Geelong (parochial about Kardinia) plays at least some home games here.

The pitch dimensions: 161m × 138m at the boundary. Big enough that runners take a full minute to lap. The drop-in cricket wickets are removed for footy and the ground is oversown with rye grass that holds up through Melbourne winters. The lighting was upgraded in 2017 to LED — the towers are still original 1985 vintage, just with modern globes inside.

The Famous Moments

Where do you start? Leo Barry, last seconds of the 2005 Grand Final, taking the mark of a lifetime to seal Sydney’s first flag in 72 years. Wayne Harmes, knocking the ball back from the boundary for Sheldon to goal in the 1979 Grand Final. Alex Jesaulenko’s mark over Graeme Jenkin in 1970 — Goal of the Century. Buddy Franklin’s 100th of 2013, in front of 50,000 — the last man to do it. Dustin Martin’s three Norm Smiths, all on this turf. Damien Hardwick’s hug with Trent Cotchin after the 2017 siren. The 2010 drawn Grand Final — Stephen Milne’s miss, the replay six days later. The 1989 Grand Final between Hawthorn and Geelong — the greatest ever played, the Cats coming up 6 points short, and Mark “Jacko” Yeates trying to take Dermott Brereton’s head off in the opening seconds.

There’s also the dark stuff: Daicos’s snap from the boundary against North in 1990 (Peter, not Nick — they’re still the same family). Ablett Sr’s nine goals in the 1989 Grand Final losing effort. The “Coleman record” goalkicking duels — Lockett, Dunstall, Modra. The ongoing Bombers-Magpies rivalry that means Anzac Day always sells out by April 1.

Trivia That Wins Bar Bets

• The MCG hosted the 1956 Olympic Games opening and closing ceremonies.
• It’s the only stadium in the world to have hosted Olympic Games, two Cricket World Cup Finals (1992, 2015), a Commonwealth Games, and the AFL Grand Final.
• The “G” has been called the “People’s Ground” since the 1880s.
• Grand Final tickets are not transferable to non-MCC members for the bulk of the lower tiers — which is why MCC waiting lists are 20+ years.
• The light towers were the tallest in Australia when built (1985) — they featured prominently in Tim Lane and Bruce McAvaney’s late-night calls during the introduction of night finals.
• The MCG is the home of the Australian Sports Museum and the National Sports Museum — both inside the stadium.
• Dustin Martin’s 2017 Norm Smith Medal was the first ever won by a player in a winning and losing finalist’s jumper — Richmond had thrashed Adelaide 16.12 (108) to 8.12 (60). Twiggy didn’t drop one all day.

Rumours And The Future

NSW continues to lobby for a Sydney Grand Final. Every five years a politician floats it; the AFL says no, the MCC laughs, and Victorian fans send abusive emails to whichever Senator is up that week.

The bigger debate is whether the MCG’s lease should be locked in until 2057, especially after the 2020 COVID Grand Final shifted to the Gabba and the 2021 edition went to Optus Stadium in Perth. Both worked. The traditionalists’ answer: those were emergencies, not precedents. The MCG will host the next 30 Grand Finals minimum.

There are whispers of a partial roof being added to the Great Southern Stand and the Olympic Stand — partly for sun protection (Australian summers are getting hotter) and partly because cricket fans complain. Nothing’s been signed off; the MCC is running feasibility studies. If it happens it’ll be retractable rather than fixed (you can’t roof an oval that big, even by 2030 stadium tech standards).

The MCG’s surface is rumoured to be due for a full re-lay around 2027 — the current surface dates from 2017. Drop-in cricket wickets get harder on the centre square as the years go on, and the AFL has been quietly nudging the MCC about wear patterns.

And the perennial rumour: an AFL Hall of Fame separate to the existing National Sports Museum. Long-talked-about, never funded. One day. Maybe.

The Verdict

The MCG isn’t perfect. The food’s expensive, the queues at half-time are biblical, and the wind through the Olympic Stand on a winter night will freeze your fingers off your beer. But it’s the only place where 100,000 Australians can stand together and roar, and it’s where every kid who’s ever kicked a Sherrin dreams of playing one day. NSW can keep their concrete soccer bowls and their endless committee meetings about a Sydney Grand Final. The People’s Ground will still be here in 2057, and it’ll still be the only place footy properly belongs.