Menu
Facilities

Melbourne Cricket Club Pitches Billion-Dollar MCG Makeover Plan To Government

A billion-dollar Melbourne Cricket Ground makeover plan "has been pitched to the government to maintain the sport's precinct as the world's best and ensure maximum entertainment and security for patrons," according to McClure, Dowling & Preiss of THE AGE. The plan, commissioned by the Melbourne Cricket Club, "contains elevated pedestrian podiums stretching from the MCG to Richmond Station and a new hotel and health club." Stage two, of the "Sports Link Vision," would see the railway tracks between the MCG and Melbourne and Olympic Parks decked, "with open space created for events in the middle." The report said, "A new public plaza is proposed to serve as a central focal point for the precinct and effectively forming the major link between the Melbourne Park Tennis Centre and the MCG and a hotel and health/sporting club, activating the space with restaurants and bars whilst complementing the public space and pedestrian connectivity into the precinct from Federation Square." There would also be "safe and secure event zones and live sites" and some business and office space. MCC CEO Stephen Gough said that the plan was to ensure the MCG and the precinct did not "rest on our laurels" and "kept improving to stay contemporary and offer the best experience for visitors as Melbourne's population booms" (THE AGE, 5/4). In Melbourne, Rolfe & Minear reported a N.Y.-style "High Line" could be built above the train tracks that separate the MCG from Melbourne Park "under the plan aimed at breathing new life into the city’s sporting heart." The Andrews Government was on Tuesday investigating the push by the MCC and MCG Trust to "build new parkland, live sites and infrastructure next to the MCG." Gough said the government "had been handed a blueprint for better pedestrian and road access around the ground and an enhanced spectator experience." He said, "With a world-class precinct like this, you need to plan for the future about how you maintain its status." Australian Football League side Collingwood President Eddie McGuire backed the plan, suggesting there was "a lot of positivity" in making Brunton Ave "more car-and pedestrian-friendly as well as reclaiming land at Richmond station." Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley said that the plan "could help future-proof the sporting precinct" (HERALD SUN, 5/4). ABC reported a feasibility study, which covers the rail corridor between the MCG and Melbourne Park, was commissioned by the MCC and MCG Trust, after a request by the State Government. MCC Communications Manager Shane Brown said that there was "no funding or timeline for construction, but added it was part of a long-term vision." Brown said that the project "could take up to 20 years to build." He said, "It's still very much at the conception stage, but it's an idea we want put into the mix when the Government and others consider the future of the sports precinct" (ABC, 5/4).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2016/05/05/Facilities/MCG-Precinct.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2016/05/05/Facilities/MCG-Precinct.aspx

CLOSE