The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) might soon get major upgrades to the Shane Warne Stand after the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) had a successful financial year.
The MCC, which runs the Melbourne Cricket Ground, reported a net profit of $32.1 million for the year ending in March 2024. This good financial performance helped the club pay off its debt from the Northern Stand project two years early. Now, they are thinking about future improvements to the stadium. According to MCC Chief Executive Stuart Fox, the success was due to high attendance at AFL games.
“These shows, 18 months in the making, delivered beyond expectations,” Fox told WA Today.
With their finances in good shape, the MCC is considering updates, including redeveloping the older Shane Warne Stand. They have done a feasibility study, but no decisions have been made yet.
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Redoing the Shane Warne Stand is a big project that needs the MCC, the Victorian government, and major sports groups like the AFL and Cricket Australia to work together. MCC President Fred Oldfield talked about the club’s financial health.
“The stadium is getting old, so we need to keep investing in it to make sure the MCG stays a top venue. We have worked with the state government and the Melbourne Cricket Ground Trust to create a plan to look at different options for the Shane Warne Stand. Because of our good financial situation, we can now think about more improvements and possibly redoing the stand,” Oldfield said.