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Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox says the MCG is preparing for its own version of the Super Bowl, as the famous ground undergoes unprecedented preparation to host an historic maiden NFL match on Australian soil.
The storied home of AFL football and cricket is undergoing a transformation ahead of the sell-out clash between the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers on Friday morning, before the venue is quickly refitted as the home of the AFL final series.
Two of the four dressing rooms have been upgraded (the Rams and 49ers will each have two, and all dressing rooms have had oversized lockers installed) to cater for the hordes of players and staff. On the field, patches of turf will be relayed, with on-field paint markings for the rectangular field to be completed.
Food and beverage outlets inside and out the venue will have a US bent, featuring hot dogs, nachos and beer, catering for those fans hoping to enjoy the best of sporting Americana. Merchandise stalls will also be full to brim with NFL gear.
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The carpark below the ground is closed and has morphed into a storage area, and a series of offices for the hundreds of NFL officials in town, while broadcast facilities have been revamped to cater for US giants Netflix and ESPN.
Fox, who has been in charge of the MCC for almost a decade, said the logistics required to host the game were remarkable.
“I’ve not seen an event of this size and scale, and the amount of planning required with the NFL,” Fox said.
“So, that’s probably been the point of difference from preparing for say, a grand final or a Taylor Swift concert.”
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The MCG has played host to the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, rugby league, rugby union, soccer and rock concerts, but this is the first time the NFL has come to town.
“We’ve, obviously, been and checked out the Super Bowl, and it feels very much like it,” Fox said.
Fox said a group of 70 NFL staff had held three, one-week field trips to the MCG over the past two years, but the league had “respected” the MCC staff “for their expertise in putting on really big events”.
Fox said fans would need to adjust to the extended security around the ground, where there will be seven entry points. Gates will open at 7am on match day. There will be heightened security and a strong visible police presence amid tight entry requirements, including a strict clear bag policy.
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“I want to reinforce to all fans to bring a clear bag or, if possible, leave your bag at home,” Fox said.
Hawthorn’s win in Thursday night’s AFL qualifying final against Fremantle in Perth has taken some of the pressure off the MCG, which now won’t have to host an AFL semi-final next weekend. But Fox said ground staff would still operate as if there was a game scheduled, to reinforce that a tight turnaround could be met.
Fox said teams of shift workers would transform the venue overnight, so by 8am on Saturday it would again have the feel of an AFL stadium, although the underground car park would remain closed and some markings would remain on the ground.
The transformation will involve more fresh turf, with the coloured touchdown areas at each end of the NFL arena to be replaced.
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“Safety is paramount, and turf tech now is such that you can play on the turf the next day, so we are not at all concerned about safety,” Fox said.
“It’s usually just the look and embedding the turf in over a few days with sun and growth, and that can take a few days to start to look really good.
“So, that’s the big challenge – getting the change rooms back to normal, getting the broadcast studios back to the normal broadcast studios, and, obviously, the turf is critical. The NFL goal posts come out, AFL goalposts come in.”
NFL general manager Australia and New Zealand Charlotte Offord said the league and MCC would ensure there was a seamless transition.
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“We’ve been working really closely with both MCC, MCG, AFL to make sure that the transition between our two games is as seamless as possible,” Offord said.
“Yes, it will come with an extra layer of logistics that we all have to address in order to make it a seamless experience for both of us. But the MCG [staff] are used to this.
“They consistently roll out multiple events day after day, and so this is just one another thing in their scheme of how they do things to make sure that we’re rolled out properly.”
The 49ers are based at AAMI Park through the week, while the Rams do not arrive until later in the week. They will have their only training session on Thursday at Marvel Stadium.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.AdvertisementAdvertisement