Melbourne Cricket Ground

MCG:

The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is an Australian sports stadium located in Yarra Park in inner Melbourne, home to the Melbourne Cricket Club. It is the largest stadium in Australia, and holds the world record for the highest light towers at any sporting venue. The MCG is within walking distance of the city centre, and is serviced by Richmond and Jolimont train stations.

Internationally, the MCG is remembered as the centrepiece stadium of the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 2006 Commonwealth Games. The open-air stadium is also one of the world's most famous cricket venues, with the well-attended Boxing Day test match commencing on Boxing Day every year. Throughout the winter, it serves as the home of Australian rules football, with at least one game (though usually more) held there each round. In late September, the AFL Grand Final fills the stadium to capacity.

Until the 1970s, more than 120,000 people were sometimes crammed into the venue - the record crowd standing at around 130,000 for a Billy Graham religious event in 1959, followed by 121,696 for the 1970 VFL Grand Final. Renovations and safety regulations now limit the maximum capacity to just under 100,000.

The MCG, often referred to by locals as "The G", has also hosted other major events, including International Rules between the Australian Football League and Gaelic Athletic Association, international Rugby union, State of Origin rugby league, FIFA World Cup qualifiers and International Friendly matches, and large rock concerts. When Madonna performed at the ground during her Girlie Show Tour in 1993, she dubbed it "The G Spot".

Punt Road Oval, home of Richmond Football Club is located only a few hundred metres to the east of the stadium.

Stadium development:

The MCG was redesigned and drained by RC Bagot in 1861. In 1876 the reversible stand was built, located at the northern end of the ground, but in 1884 a grandstand replaced the old reversible stand which had burnt down. In 1881Prince George of Wales and Prince Albert Victor on July 4. It was opened in December that year. It was also in 1881 that a telephone was installed at the grounds, and the wickets and goal posts were changed from running east-west to run north-south. beside the MCC pavilion was constructed a new members' pavilion, with the foundation stone being put in place by

In 1882 a scorecard was put in place, showing details of the batsman's name and how he was dismissed. The Grandstand was extended with a double-deck in 1897. In 1900 it was lit up with electric lights. An open wooden stand was built on the south side of the ground in 1904, and The Grey Smith Stand (then known as the New Stand before 1912) was erected in 1906.

In 1936 the Southern Stand was opened. 1956 saw the completion and opening of the Olympic Stand in time for the 1956 Summer Olympics. The Duke of Edinburgh on 3 March 1967 laid a foundation stone for a new Western Stand, which was completed in 1968 (known as the Ponsford Stand after 1986).

In 1985 light towers were installed at the ground, allowing for night football and day-night cricket games.

The Great Southern Stand was erected in 1992 as part of a major redevelopment for the 1992 Cricket World Cup. In doing so, more than one half of the MCG was rebuilt. The new stand was built at a cost of AUD$150 million and for a capacity of 48,000.

The 1928 Members' stand, as well as the 1956 Olympic stand and the 1968 Ponsford stand were demolished in late 2002. They were replaced with a new structure in time for Melbourne to host the 2006 Commonwealth Games. Despite now standing as a single unbroken stand, the individual sections retain the names of Ponsford, Olympic and Members Stands. The redevelopments total cost exceeded AUD$400 million and pushed the grounds capacity over the 100,000 mark (when standing room is taken into account). Since redevelopment, the highest attendance was the 2007 First Preliminary Final of the AFL with 98,002