The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) or simply ‘The G’, is one of the most iconic sporting venues in Australia.

It’s the colosseum where some of the greatest moments in sport occur every single year. From Cricket matches to AFL games to the upcoming NFL game between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers, the MCG has seen it all.

As an Aussie, I felt it was only right for me to visit this sacred site and pay my respects. Just kidding, but the way people talk about this hallowed ground always makes me laugh. It is an iconic place and one that I wanted to see for myself, especially as I’ve come to enjoy sports more this year.

During our recent trip to Melbourne, Mum and I booked a tour of the MCG to get the full experience. It cost $50.00 for the 75-minute guided tour as well as access to the Australian Sports Museum. We arrived early and got to sit at one of the cafe’s until it was time for our tour.

Surprisingly, this was quite a highlight too, as we got to see dozens of people about, working to maintain, organise, upkeep, renovate, or operate within the enormous site. Seating over 100,000, it is a huge place, and there are so many parts that need to function well together to keep everything running smoothly.

Time for the tour, our guide Paul introduced himself, and shared that he was in fact a Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) member who volunteered his time to do these tours. It was awesome getting to walk around and chat with a real ‘insider’ who had been to the MCG pretty much every weekend of his life. The poor guy was a Sydney Swans supporter though, so he was still burned by the 2024 AFL Grand Final (go Lions!), as well as the awful allegations which were made against five of the Swans players recently.

The rest of our group consisted of two Essendon supporters (they didn’t want to talk about it, fair enough), a West Coast supporter whose second team was Collingwood (unlucky), and a father and son from England who were cricket fans. They were hilarious to speak with, because they had no clue about Aussie Rules and couldn’t quite understand the madness around it all. There was a moment when I told him that it was ‘basically religion’ in Melbourne, and he finally started to realise how serious this was.

We started by heading down onto the field itself, where a little section was dedicated for us to actually stand on the ground. The magnitude of the stadium creeps in as you walk down the stairs, until you step onto the ground itself, where you are utterly dwarfed by the stands. Watching the games on TV can’t convey how intimidating it must be to step out in front of tens of thousands of fans, passionately cheering for you to win or desperately hoping you lose. It would be an incredible environment during a big game, and I hope I’ll get to experience it properly one day. The way my Brisbane Lions are going, I’m hoping for plenty more years of success!

On the grass, we heard a little about the actual science behind maintaining the grass and the incredible work they do to grow and swap out the cricket pitches. Then we headed back into the stands to continue our tour.

We got to visit the change rooms, the cricket training centre, the media rooms, corporate boxes, and see the ground from pretty much every level. It was amazing to see how it all fit together, and get an idea of which sponsors I need to work with to get the best seats in the house!

Then it was into the members areas to look at some of the artwork commemorating the history of the MCG. Most notably, there is a gorgeous tapestry created by the Victorian Tapestry Workshop for the 150th anniversary of the MCG, covered in Australian sporting legends in chronological order. A statue of Don Bradman, one of, if not the greatest Australian cricketer of all time, is displayed alongside a wall recognising cricketing greats from around the world.

We went a little overtime on the tour, but there were no complaints from any of us. The guide was so knowledgeable, and had plenty of great personal stories to share too.

Interestingly, getting a membership can take the best part of twenty years, so most parents will put their children’s names down the second they are born. With over 155,000 members currently on the list and approximately 181,000 on the waiting list to join, it’s an exclusive club. I’ve definitely missed the memo on that one, but who knows, maybe its worth putting in an application just to see what comes of it! I might just get the membership in time for my retirement 😂.

Finally finished, we ended up back where we started and said our goodbyes before heading our separate ways. Some left immediately, while we made our way down to the sports museum.

To be honest, I was getting tired by this point, so Mum and I breezed through the exhibits quicker than usual. There was an amazing spread of sports and interactive sections where you could spend hours reading through all the information. Over 95 different sports are featured in the museum, which has sections for AFL, Cricket, and Australia’s rich Olympic history. There was also a room dedicated to Shane Warne, one of the best spin bowlers in the world.

It was great to see it all in the flesh, and I particularly enjoyed hearing the foreign museum-goers learning about the wacky and wonderful stories from our past. A French couple couldn’t stop laughing in disbelief as they learned about our good man Steven Bradbury winning the first winter Olympic medal for Australia in the most incredible and hilarious way.

The entire stadium truly celebrates sport at every level, and the museum is an extension of this with its various sections. It was a great tour, and one that I would highly recommend for fans and travellers of all types. You can spend as little or as much time as you please, and it’s always cool to get a glimpse behind the curtain to see how these huge productions come together.

If you haven’t been already, I hope you’ve now added this tour to your bucket list. If you have been before, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Are you a regular at the MCG who wanted to have a deeper look? Or did you arrive from somewhere else in the world, keen to see the ‘G’ in all its glory for the first time? Did you watch a game or match too? Or are you saving that experience for another time?

Hopefully, I can write about my own first game at the MCG very soon! Until next time! x