Michael commenced by requesting a show of hands by MCC Members in attendance which appeared to be nearly half the room with a number of 50 year Members.
Michael acknowledged David Jones as a Past President of the MCC , Kevin Sheehan as a recent 50 year Member, David Frieze a Member since 1939 ( 81 years) and 14TH on the list of long standing Members and Chair Peter Dakin 62 years.
The Club has 130,000 Members and an extraordinary 220,000 on the Waiting List which is a real challenge for the Club as there is a risk of missing a whole generation of people .
The Melbourne Cricket Club runs the Ground on behalf of the State Government and liaises closely with the MCC Trust. The MCC has had very little funding from the Government and the Stands and assets have essentially been financed by the Club and carry the debt.
Michael commented on the key stakeholder relationships particularly with the AFL and Cricket Australia and that the stadium with a capacity of 100,000 is the busiest in the world ,catering for 3.5 million visitors last year .
He enunciated why the “ G “ is such a special place in the hearts of Victorians and thousands of interstate and overseas visitors commenting on magic moments including Don Bradman’s 100 in 1956 , the record attendance when Liverpool played Melbourne Victory, Kerry McCann’s Marathon victory in 2006 and a number of big concerts .
The Club Foundation has a strong focus on community partnerships with 14 Sporting Sections and other Special Interest Groups , supporting the indigenous with a new Ground near Alice Springs ( San Teresa Oval ) and the Bacher Houli Foundation ( Richmond footballer which is building young leaders in the Muslim community.
What keeps Michael awake at night in terms of challenges for the “G” are - include Security issues , terrorism, poor crowd and member behaviour .
Overall a most interesting presentation." Thank you Peter for capturing the fascinating presentation so well.
