The public reserve stands that encircled the oval were finished in 1974 and lighting was installed in 1977. But the ground was plagued by clogged roads and a lack of public transport, including a train line the government promised, but would not bring forward, in the words of Transport Minister Vernon Wilcox, “just because there is a VFL park there”.
But the real death knell for any hope of the ground being expanded to the original grand designs came in the early 1980s when the government knocked back planning permits for the league to expand the ground from its then capacity of 72,000 to more than 102,000 to cater for the 1984 Grand Final.
Key government figures, including premier John Cain, were pro-MCC supporters and did not want the biggest game of the year moved from the MCG. “There was just so much politics,” former VFL president Dr Allen Aylett told the Herald Sun in 2009. “People say Waverley was an iceberg and was never popular; it was popular, but it was never given a good go.”
TO MOST footy fans, there’s nothing in sport that rivals the MCG on grand final day.
www.news.com.au
Bit more on the John Cain involvement
Once again, an AFL grand final has drawn a massive crowd to the MCG in what is arguably the biggest sports day of the year in a city that prides itself on such occasions. The last day in September rivals the first Tuesday in November as a day that stops the city, if not the nation.
www.smh.com.au
And from Wikipedia
The original plans were for a stadium catering for up to 157,000 patrons, which would have made it one of the biggest stadiums in the world. To accommodate the large number of patrons the members' stand was to be extended around the whole ground. However, in 1982 and/or 1983 when the extensions were due to commence, the Government of Victoria (led by Victorian Premier John Cain, who was a member of the Melbourne Cricket Club) refused to approve the plans for the upgrade because it would have threatened the Melbourne Cricket Ground's (MCG) right to host the VFL Grand Final (the league-owned VFL Park had originally been built with the intent of replacing the MCG as the permanent home of the grand final, but the Victorian government, with interests in the MCG, refused to allow its capacity upgrade). Hence, no further development ever occurred and the capacity was set at just over 100,000 patrons (later reduced to 72,000).[3]
I don't really disagree with any of this, it is just that before John Cain decided that VFL Park with a 150K capacity and hosting the Grand Final was not going to happen, there was plenty of resistance to VFL Park.
There is a reason it was called arctic park, it was bloody cold. Also rains more out there. Plus the playing area was just too big and too far away from the spectators.
Not to mention too far away from civilisation.
I particularly liked this quote from that HUN story:
“It cannot be denied that the old ground, in spite of their sentimental associations, have inadequate parking facilities in this motoring age,” the booklet read.
“Further, congested road systems close to the city create vexing travelling difficulties.
You want congested roads, stick a huge stadium out on the edge of the city and see what happens. If that place ever had over 100K in it you would have been waiting hours to get out. The whole idea that you can have a massive stadium with no heavy rail or at least very substantial public transport was stupid then and is stupid now.
Similar situation with Tullamarine Airport - this idea that you can get everyone there and back, in huge numbers, with a freeway. It simply does not work.
I would have an easier time getting to Mulgrave from where I live and I lived in a similar location as a kid but it was a nightmare.
Great idea to build their own stadium, great idea to have such massive capacity and I've always thought it a pity we never got the 150K stadium. But, bad design and wrong location are what really killed it.
DS
