Plans are being drawn up to upgrade the MCG, with increased capacity, improved facilities and even a roof under consideration for the famous venue.
While a roof would cost upwards of $5 billion and is considered unlikely, the Shane Warne Stand is considered the likely next target of the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) and the state government.
Opened in 1992 as the Great Southern Stand for that year's Cricket World Cup, it was renamed for cricket legend Warne following his death in 2022.
The ground currently holds just over 100,000 people and was recently knocked out of the top 10 biggest venues in the world, with a number of American college football venues marginally bigger than the MCG.
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A desire to increase the MCG's capacity - and climb back up that global list - are the main driving factors behind a planned renovation.
“There’s at least 10 to 12 events a year where ticket demand is such that we could have a higher capacity,” MCC boss Stuart Fox said on Wednesday.
“We’re the 11th-largest stadium in the world. We got knocked out by one stadium last year, but it’d be nice to bump back up into the top 10.
“We’ve seen it with the two preliminary finals, we probably could have sold it twice over.
“When a female called Taylor Swift was here, we probably should have just shut the ’G down for the rest of the year.”
In 2024, the MCG hosted 69 events, bringing more than 620,000 visitors to Victoria and generating $290 million for the state's economy, according to the MCC.
It may be some time before any redevelopment takes place, with the MCG to host the men's and women's Rugby World Cups in 2027 and 2029 respectively.
A roof is not considered a priority for the famous old ground, which was first opened in 1853 and has been redeveloped a number of times, including for the 1956 Olympic Games and 2006 Commonwealth Games
“We’ve got to come up with a sensible plan, because this has to be funded and delivered at some stage into the future,” Fox said.
“If we over-scope it, you know, a roof might cost $5 billion or $6 billion alone to retrofit.”