Picture it.
You’ve returned to work after the Christmas break, you are slowly returning to the habits you had before the luxurious Christmas period, where work seemed like a distant memory.
All of a sudden, your partner suggests going to the night time session of the Australian open, you are ripped from the monotony and leap at the opportunity.
You purchase the tickets on the afternoon of the night session you want to go to for $19 each, finish your workday and catch a tram for 20 minutes from docklands around to the main gate at the Australian Open.
All of a sudden you are attending a Grand Slam, something some avid tennis lovers can only dream of.
Rod Laver Arena. (Photo by James D. Morgan/Getty Images)
You can say this of almost any sport in Melbourne, AFL, cricket, soccer, rugby and to a lesser extent formula one – you have incredible access sport lovers wish for.
But what makes Melbourne the sporting capital?
It is a vast number of things, but let’s start with that 20 minute tram ride.
The sport precinct in Melbourne which houses the MCG, tennis precinct and AAMI park are incredibly well connected by 12 train lines at two stations, three separate tram lines directly access the area and Yarra Park can provide parking from those brave enough to traverse the roads.
By contrast, Wembley stadium is 45 minutes by train from the CBD of London, Metlife stadium where the NFL’s New York Giants and Jets play is only accessible by car, train or bus and takes 45 minutes.
Capital cities could never dream of being so close to its sporting stadiums, but Melbourne is truly blessed.
A trip to the football or a trip to the tennis requires very little forethought, you can make the last minute decision to go without having to travel great distances across the city.
Another part of what makes Melbourne the sporting capital is the sheer commitment the city shows to securing and keeping major sporting events.
Melbourne plucked the Formula 1 from Adelaide when the city was caught napping in 1995 and South Australia has regretted it ever since. The Melbourne event has become a staple of the F1 calendar and will remain in the city until at least 2035.
The start line of the Australian Grand Prix, held in Melbourne. (Photo by Bai Xuefei/Xinhua via Getty Images)
The Australian Open was originally played across five capital cities but in 1972, it was decided the event would only be played in Melbourne as the tournament’s highest patronage occurred in the city.
Each year the AFL puts on its biggest game of the season at the MCG, which will always be sold out, and whilst through the covid years other grounds got to taste the game the Grand Final will remain at the ground until 2059, despite the clear bias it provides to Victorian teams.
The Boxing Day Test is the biggest cricket match in the country.
While cricket fans lament the empty grandstands at a barely full Perth stadium, the MCG regularly impresses each summer with solid crowds, regardless of the opposition.
The grounds and venues coupled with state governments (Liberal and Labor alike) are always striving to lock in sporting events for years into the future.
This type of forward planning allows spending to occur to improve these grounds and arenas with the expectation the city will recoup the money for years after the improvements are complete.
Any city on the planet that wants to learn how to host and keep sporting events need not look any further than the city at the bottom of Australia’s mainland, Melbourne.
Ad Tastic
Roar Rookie
Suncorp is the best Rugby ground in the country. I'm sure AAMI park is better for A-League games and Storm games but Suncorp, Lang Park to give it its true name, is historical and legendary to Queenslanders. Like the MCG is to Victorians. Going to an Origin game there, with a few pre-game tipples at Caxton St, is a pilgrimage all Australians should make because there is nothing like it in our country.
Ad Tastic
Roar Rookie
The history, the traditions, the venue itself. Its status as the most prestigious of all the grand slams. You could say the same with Lords. Anyway, the MCG isn’t really a cricket ground any more, its a football stadium, and thats part of what they really get right in London. Venues built specifically for one sport. Football clubs have their own stadiums which gives them more character than playing everyone at the same venue. They dont play Rugby games on AFL ovals where the paying fan is miles away from the action. Its not really Melbourne’s fault because they dont have the population to support all that infrastructure. But having said that Melbournians are only really nailed on to one sport. London has enough people and enough passion for sport to have magnificent venues that always sell out for many, many different sports.
Alec Chen
Roar Rookie
10-20 years ago you can probably make the case that public transport in Melbourne is better than Sydney. Nowadays it's harder to make that case. The once modern Myki has become archaic to modern public transportation needs compared to the Opal, the trains system in Melbourne is serviced by incredibly poor frequency, still no airport rail connection. With Sydney potentially opening a key extension of Australia's only MRT line, and another light rail route in Parramatta, I think Sydney's leapfrogged Melbourne with regards to Also, I actually think AAMI Park right now is the perfect capacity for the Melbourne rectangular stadiums. Australian stadiums design have a bad habit of thinking that bigger is better, but the reality is that a large (40-50k) rectangular stadium can only be filled by the odd NRL Finals/Origin game, Matildas, FIFAWC or RWC game if lucky. Normal club games already do not fill up to capacity. AAMI park is a fantastic stadium already, arguably better than SFS/Suncorp right now.
Chris Lewis
Roar Guru
Yes, i agree London is sports capitol of world. Look forward to visiting.
Kitwally
Roar Rookie
Love the trams! The public transport in Melbourne is better than every other city in Australia because of them, especially Sydney’s, which is dire. It’s true Melbourne does have the F1, the Australian Open tennis, and the AFL. But in terms of football, rugby union and rugby league, Melbourne doesn’t have a large crowd capacity rectangular stadium like Accor Stadium in Sydney, or Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Brepen
Roar Rookie
Ad Tastic what made your Wimbledon experience a better tournament than the Australian Open.
Ad Tastic
Roar Rookie
London is a much better sporting city than Melbourne and it aint even close. Better cricket stadium, better Rugby stadium, better Tennis tournament, better version of Football, NFL games, top Boxing. They even have the Tour de France start there from time to time. The only thing it doesn't have is a Grand Prix but there's one only 2 hrs away. All of those events have a better atmosphere at the ground because the Poms are just better at that. There really isn't much they have to be bothered about with Melbourne.