Outgoing MCC president Steven Smith has revealed the Southern Stand could receive major renovations in the next 10 years.
It’s been 27 years since the redevelopments finished and Smith said they would like to make some major changes to it, linking it to Brunton Avenue and Richmond Station.
“In the last four years, the extension of the AFL agreement that means the Grand Final is now guaranteed for 40 years at the MCG,” Smith told SEN Breakfast.
“What that means in 10 years when the Southern Stand is 35 years old, and it’s about the time you start thinking what you do with grand stands, we’ve got enough guaranteed content to borrow the billion dollars that we need to rebuild it.
“To connect it to Richmond Station, to connect it to AAMI Park and the tennis centre and it’ll retain being one of the greatest sporting grounds in the world, but also it would be one of the best sporting precincts in the world.
“35 years, it flies past, new stadiums coming through like Perth, Adelaide’s re-done, around the world it’s changing all the time so you’ve got to keep modernising.”
Smith doesn’t expect it to have a huge impact on the total capacity of the MCG.
“We might be able to get an extra 5,000 possibly, depends on how high you go,” he said.
“It’s also very narrow the Southern Stand, it needs to be extended out across Brunton Avenue, it’ll sort of provide better facilities over there. There aren’t the restaurants and bars for the public we’d like to have.”
The outgoing president added it’s very unlikely the MCG will ever a have roof, in a similar vein to Marvel Stadium.
“Not at this point, it’s just not possible from an engineering point of view,” he said.
“I think the beauty about it would be trying to provide more coverage for spectators so they don’t get rained on.”
The MCG undergoing serious renovations could lead to the Grand Final being temporarily moved, according to former Essendon captain Tim Watson.
“Back in 1992 the Grand Final was transferred to Waverley, if the Southern Stand was to come down,” Watson said.
“I think it will (go outside of Melbourne). It could go to Sydney, they’re redeveloping up there, it could go to WA, Adelaide possible. The capacity is a bit down there.”
