Melbourne Cricket Ground

Although the Melbourne Cricket Ground is arguably one of the two most important cricket grounds in the world, it is much more than a cricket ground to the people of Melbourne. It is one of the great icons of this city, and even Australia. It has often been said that you could draw a crowd of 50,000 in Melbourne to watch two fly's crawling up a wall, such is Victorians' love of anything to do with sport. The MCG has been ingrained in the locals' psyche over the past 50 years and it fittingly reflects the enormous fascination Victorians have with sport.

Make no mistake, this is the sports capital of Australia and the MCG is sport's holy temple. Sydneysiders do not have the same enthusiasm as their southern counterparts when it comes to participating in and following sporting events. Melbourne's great fascination with sport probably emanates from the city's resentment at having to play second fiddle to Sydney in terms of climate and spectacular harbour setting. By establishing great sporting traditions such as the Melbourne Cup and Australian Rules Football Grand Finals, Melbourne was able to outdo the harbour city.

By the 1950's, Melbourne's reputation as the sports capital of Australia was so firmly entrenched that it was a foregone conclusion that the city would host the Olympic Games. (The ground capacity of the MCG was also a major contributing factor.) The grand final of Australian Football is always played at the MCG, and in recent times the holy grail of rugby, the Bledisloe Cup, was played in Melbourne for the first time in front of some of the biggest crowds ever seen at a rugby match.

But let's not forget cricket, as this is after all a cricket ground. Some of the greatest cricket matches of all time (including the Centenary Test Match played between Australia and England) have been played on the MCG and this is the biggest cricket ground in the world, its huge stadium one time accommodating more than 100,000 patrons. With updated seating facilities, the MCG now seats 90,000 in relative comfort. The Australian Gallery of Sport is also located at the MCG.

For a 30 minutes tour of the MCG and other sporting venues please book The Sports Lover Tour.

You can easily walk to the MCG by walking east along Flinders Street. It should take you about 20 minutes to a half hour. If you're not feeling energetic, catch a No 48 or 75 tram from Flinders Street or catch a train from Flinders Street Station to Jolimont.

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