Darwin was bombed in 1942 WW2 Japanese air raids and cyclone Tracy wiped it of the map in 1974.

As others have said, Perth’s Optus Stadium is the prettiest. But if you’re looking for atmosphere, you can’t beat the MCG. When it’s at full capacity, it’s awe-inspiring, but even when it’s empty, it still feels like hallowed ground. Throw in the fact that it’s walking distance to the heart of Melbourne, the Yarra River, Botanical Gardens, the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Rod Laver Arena (home of the Australian Open), and AAMI stadium (bubble-like outside whose lighting changes colour at night), it is not only iconic, it’s also the best situated.

You may have noticed that Australian sports stadiums have minimum to need parking lots. Every major sports stadium has great access from public transport and is the main way people get there

at Adelaide Oval the old manual scoreboard and the fig trees are historically protected... Perth and Adelaide stadiums have cool light shows before matches...

Adelaide oval also has a world class hotel built into the eastern side of the stadium. You can watch footy/cricket from the hotel. The only stadium in Australia to have this.

I am 70 and live 20 minutes away from the Melbourne Cricket Ground and have only been there once when a friend took me to a cricket match. My G G Grandfather carved model planes from wood and would fly them at the MCG in early 1900. One that he made is in the Melbourne Museum.

The MCG recently hosted Taylor Swift’s Eras tour with crowds of 96,000 people per night for three nights. Plus another 50,000 people outside the stadium. It’s her biggest stadium event to date.

i live in Perth and was lucky lucky enough to see Optus Stadium being built from the ground up, as i went past the site each day on the train to work. Its a brilliant stadium, i've watched 5 different types of sports there as well as seen a couple of massive concerts. you really cant fault it!

The interesting thing for me with the Adelaide stadium is when you're heading out of town going north at night time makes the oval look like a flying saucer.

The old pavilions are state heritage listed so they can't be knocked down even if they wanted to, things like that are protected all around Australia under the heritage act.

Optus stadium (aka Perth Stadium) was built on a site that used to be a golf course, which was built on a former rubbish dump. It's built on a promontory of the Swan River. As part of the project, the surrounding lands include multiple playgrounds, a footbridge over the river, and a new train station. Both the stadium and river can light up at night with a full exterior light show. It would be worth a look to look at the larger stadium surroundings, there's a lot of landscaping that went into the entire precint. Victoria has 10 AFL teams, out of 18 (19 soon). Most of those play at the MCG. The 'G, as the stadium is affectionately known, was also the main stadium for the Melbourne Olympics in 1956, and hosted the fist ever game of Test Cricket. There is some current controversy over stadiums in Tasmania. Tasmania have been given the 19th AFL licence to have an AFL team, but the AFL want them to build a new stadium. The State government don't want to though. Darwin was bombed by the Japanese during the WW2, and was smashed by CXyclone Tracy on Christmas Day in 1974.

The MCG hosted the first ever Test Cricket match in 1877, between Australia and England. It also hosted the first ever one day international (ODI) match in 1971.

The MCG is the current largest stadium by capacity in the southern hemisphere (100,024). It's record crowd for a sporting event is 121,696 for the 1970 VFL Grand Final, but the total record is approx 143,750 when Billy Graham held a crusade there (this included spectators seated on the turf). It's also been used for soccer, both forms of rugby, the 1956 Olympics, the 2006 Commonwealth Games, concerts, WWE and was a US Marine camp during WW2. It has even hosted a few major funerals for cricket and football players in recent years. The big issue for our sports in Australia is that Aussie Rules and cricket are both played on oval (mostly) or circular shaped grounds, and therefore complement each other between summer and winter. Soccer and the rugby codes are played on smaller rectangular pitches and don't work well (the play is too far from the spectators) on ovals. The Maracana in Rio De Janeiro is the only other stadium in the 'biggest' conversation south of the equator, with a current capacity of 73,139. But in a previous incarnation with mostly standing room it managed to hold around 200,000 people for the Uruguay-Brazil game in the 1950 FIFA World Cup. It's about 20m longer than the MCG, and about 15m narrower, when measured from the back of each grandstand. Others of note: - FNB Stadium in Johannesburg was built to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup Final, and has a capacity of 94,736. - Mas Monumental in Buenos Aires has a current capacity of 84,567. - Stadium Australia in Sydney (was left out of the video) was built for the 2000 Olympic Games, and has a current capacity of 83,500. It hosted 114,714 for the Olympics closing ceremony, but authorities have since removed the grandstands at each end as they were only ever considered temporary for the Olympics. - National stadiums in Indonesia, Peru and Zimbabwe all have current capacities of 80,000 to 82,000.

As a person that watches the AFL West Coast Eagles team religiously (season ticket holder) I love Optus Stadium. The Optus Stadium precinct as a whole makes it all beautiful. It’s also the most newest of the major sporting grounds with the exception of CommBank Stadium in Parramatta NSW. The MCG is from an Australian point of view, our Mecca or sport. 100,024 seating capacity. Completely filled for the first time ever in last season’s AFL Grand Final. From that point, it’s just the place to be. Especially with the popular event, the Boxing Day cricket test.

The MCGs atmosphere during the boxing day tests is always something special. It used to be absolutely phenomenal in the 90s.

Have a look at the video about Ozzie the Wedge tailed eagle which does flights around Optus stadium before West Coast Eagles matches. She even carries a camera on her back…

The MCG hosts cricket and AFL and can hold 95,000 plus fans. Various stands have been added over the years. The MCG was first used for cricket (hence Melbourne Cricket Ground - MCG) but the earliest AFL teams played here in the mid 1800s.... the Home of Footy. The rectangular grounds are typically for rugby and soccer. Ovals are for cricket and Aussie Rules Football (yey!!)

I recently delivered a brand new industrial dishwasher to Optus Stadium. It is huge. I drove in a gate at ground level and drove around inside the stadium on the service road under the stadium. It was a very interesting experience to see the place from the inside where the public can’t go.

i have been to Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane 10 times and no matter where you sit you have a great view of the ground for league and it was also great for Bon Jovi.

Adelaide might have a cathedral as a backdrop, but the MCG **IS** a cathedral.

If you want to see a stadium beside the beach, google ‘WIN stadium’ in Wollongong, NSW. They can literally kick the ball onto the beach from the ground. It’s used for rugby league and it’s one of the home grounds for St George Illawarra Dragons.

The Sydney Cricket Ground has the 'staggered' look because each grandstand is a separate structure and was built at different times to replace much older stands, some dating back to the time the two remaining heritage pavilions were built. Some SCG infrastructure was relocated to other grounds during upgrade work. The original scoreboard is now located in Bowral, a village about 100km south of Sydney. The 'Bob Stand' was relocated to North Sydney Oval. It was called that name because it cost 10c (or more accurately, a shilling) to get in back in the day. The nickname for 10c was a Bob and many people here still use the term. The two heritage-listed stands were built in the early 1870s. Some years ago there were a couple of American Baseball games held at the SCG and the US commentators were gobsmacked at the age of those buildings. Back in the 1930s with the smaller stands dotted around the ground and plenty of hill space, the SCG could hold around 77,000 but is just under 50,000 in an all-seat configuration. Sydney's big stadium is the Olympic Stadium at Homebush. In Olympic mode it could seat just over 110,000 but is capped at 84,500 in rectangular mode now as the two end stands were removed after the Games.

Optus stadium also has a dedicated train station that has express trains running to and from it for every major event. Most of those events transport cost is included in your tickets. It’s great

Adelaide Oval! Heritage listed scoreboard and Morton Bay fig trees! Awesome!!!

Optus Perth Western Australia is now the best in Australia & the light show of a night time is out of this world spectacular BUT Melbourne is the most iconic. 🙂👍

We have been to a State of Origin game at Suncorp Stadium. It is called “the cauldron” because the spectators are very close to the action. It is epic!

Ian fun fact. Some of the old Sydney Cricket Ground grandstands were disassembled in the early 80s and moved over to North Sydney oval and then reasonable and are still in use today. Fun fact 2, the light towers at Adelaide oval were originally designed to retract into the ground when not in use. This was so not to detract from the ascetics of the Adelaide skyline.

You should do a virtual reality tour of those stadiums

I was at the MCG last week with 86,000 people. Huge stadium, short walk to trains and trams, or to the city centre, amazing sculptures, great museum, set in parklands, amazing atmosphere 😊

Hi from WA. Optus replaced Subiaco oval for AFL games in 2018. Very gorgeous stadium. Inside the seating is more like Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Victoria (a different stadium to the MCG, Melbourne Cricket Ground). The difference is the exterior and the quality of amenities etc in the newer Optus, and the brilliant light displays….. Marvel however, is the only AFL ground that has a roof that can enclose the field. That sets it apart from the others.

You should watch the other stadium videos from this channel. He has videos of Australian cricket grounds, rugby league grounds, AFL grounds and A league grounds around Australia. You will see a lot of the smaller grounds as well as rectangular stadiums which weren't featured much in this video.

Best part of the Perth stadium, is that the train station is right there! In and out is really quick for the fans

One of the best things about Optus stadium is its location. Right on the swan river with beautiful views of the city. Watching an afternoon/evening game at the stadium with WA's beautiful sunsets is such a picturesque experience

I live in Adelaide and regularly go to AFL games there in the cooler months. And cricket in the hot months. The acoustics of the design are remarkable, and when the Port Adelaide AFL fans are singing 'Can't tear us apart' by INXS, the whole stadium reverberates. And the large tropical fig trees at the northern end of the ground are home to large tropical fruit bats.

Perth Stadium is amazing. I have season tickets for my AFL club The West Coast Eagles and the seats we have on level 5 are fantastic. The noise when the crowd gets going is deafening and the atmosphere the stadium holds is electric. Best stadium in Oz 👌

As a Melburnian, I’ve always felt that the MCG is the heartbeat of our city. It’s iconic and magical when it’s near capacity for a big game. The rooms within the stadium, within the MCC (Melbourne Cricket club) in particular are pretty amazing - have a look at the Long Room, Frank Grey Smith bar and others. That said, the Adelaide Oval and Optus Stadium are beautiful and a little more high-tech. We are very spoiled for choice, and our love for cricket and footy has built these magnificent stadiums.

Accor and Allianz Stadiums are the best in Sydney in my opinion. Allianz opened in 2022, Elton John played there. It poured rain but no one got wet except for Elton and the band 😂

Adelaide oval was known as the prettiest cricket ground in the world. Now it is just a fantastic venue in a fantastic location and it’s a great place to watch any ball sport. The MCG is the icon for a reason, and hard to beat when it’s full with 100,000 fans. Optus is cool, but it’s got a fence to keep the locals off the field… enough said.

I was at the opening game at Optus Stadium in January 2018 - a one day international cricket game between Australia and England. It was insane!

I was at the mcg for the World Cup final in 2015 where there was a record crowd of 92000 odd

Optus was designed to throw the noise of the crowd back onto the field. It can make that 60k capacity sound like 120k. When either Fremantle, West Coast or the Perth Scorchers are winning, the noise in that stadium is unparalleled in Australia

The Adelaide Oval scoreboard is the oldest and largest manual scoreboard in the world and is still fully operational.

Optus Stadium Perth Western Australia Facts... approx 2000 concrete piles driven into the site over 12 months at a depth of 35 meters, 21 olympic sized swimming pools of concrete used to build the stadium, 1st concrete slab was started in mid 2015, 8 crane towers in place by late 2015, first seat placed early 2016, Over 5,800 workers directly employed during construction, Workforce peaks in early 2017, Grass playing service completed in mid-2017, 36 months of construction ending in 2017, Over 1,000 TV screens are strategically located throughout the interior of the Stadium.

I live in Perth and been to most stadiums. The MCG is a true EPIC stadium. But I love Optus, it's so roomy, modern, easy access. A note though, the way Optus Stdium in Perth is built, is the decibel readings for 61,000 is equal or higher than 90,000 at the MCG, due to stand pitch and roof layout. When opened OPtus also had , and possibly still has the largest LED stadium lighting system in the world, all done by Philips.

Interesting fact about the MCG, the largest ever crowd wasn't Cricket or AFL football. It was 130,000 people who in 1959 attended the Billy Graham evangelical service.

THe scoreboard at the Adelaide Oval is the oldest one, if not in the world (not sure), at least in Australia. And it takes 9 people to operate it. The planted tall trees on the open side of the stadium to prvent people from North Adelaide to watch the games for free from their apartments!

There are now 17 NRL teams. I'll be at Suncorp Stadium next week for the Women's State of Origin. It's not the closest stadium to where I live, that would be CBUS Super Stadium, about 5 minutes away.

The land on which Optus Stadium was built was the Perth tip until the 1980’s - when the casino bought it.

I've been to the Atlanta Braves Baseball Stadium on a July 4th and while it was awesome, there is no comparison to The MCG. The roar is INCREDIBLE!!

AFL was a game started for Cricket players to keep fit in the off season. So Cricket grounds are AFL footy grounds. Rugby, be it league or Union play on dedicated grounds, sometimes sharing with soccor.

The scoreboard on the hill in Adelaide oval has been used since 1911, and is now listed as heritage. There is also a bar under it aswell

Firstly.. The "G'day how ya go'in !" intro was ON POINT!

As a Victorian, I consider Adelaide Oval to be the most aesthetic, Optus stadium to be the coolest, the MCG to be the most iconic and the SCG to be the most historic.

Another amazing thing to look into these stadiums is when they switch from cricket to AFL, at the end of football season the centre square is lifted out and transported to a maintenance area and the cricket pitches are dropped in, I've seen KZfaq videos from the MCG and Optus Stadium. Cheers

Great content. Watched you over the years. That was some of the best reaction content I have seen. Respect.

Darwin was almost completely destroyed by a cyclone in the early hours of Christmas Day in 1974. The majority of the population were evacuated down south to various cities during the cleanup and rebuild process.

The MCG used to hold over 120,000 for sports but it's been reduced with modernisation over the years. Highest single day sports attendance was 121,000 for the 1970 grand final with Carlton vs Collingwood. Highest ever attendance was 130,000 for evangelist Billy Graham in 1959 with many seated on the playing field itself.

Optus Stadium has won multiple awards for sporting stadiums

The odd triangular shaped white roof in Victoria is AAMI stadium. Its home to soccer and the roof is meant to look like many soccer balls all lined up. I do love the way architecture can go next level and create such a unique look. Considering its located in an area full of other sporting grounds (tennis, rugby, AFL, cricket etc), it really stands on its own for being different. Also the video only quickly showed Marvel stadium. It isnt as big as the MCG but has a fully retractable roof so is great on those cold wet days/nights where the roof can be closed and players and spectators are protected from the elements.

Optus in perth is probably the best.. great viewing stadium. not a bad seat anywhere. nice capacity of 60,000

you briefly mention (with the MCG) just wanting to be out there - you used to be allowed to have a kick on the MCG (and most AFL venues) after the game. Recently they've brought that concept back (but not at every game). There is something special about kicking the footy at the MCG (in a crowd where there are so many balls flying around it's a miracle very few people get hit by someone else's footy).

We were here during the AFL game on Good Friday 2024 (Dockers vs Crows) I think it was like, 51+++ people attended. It was so much fun, kids love their first ever AFL live game. We are from Perth so Dockers all the way 🎉

2:20 There's 17 NRL teams now. The Redcliffe Dolphins were added to the league in the 2023 season. NSW still holds 10 of the 17 NRL teams though

Optus stadium was built (if you believe the hype) to mimic the MCG because their AFL teams seemed to fall over in finals games played at the MCG.

14:50 Very true about Optus Stadium, when you're in the stadium itself, it's magnificent, the stands seem much steeper in person, the ground seems grander and has a terrific atmosphere; but I do feel that it doesn't come across that way on TV or in pictures

A bit of MCG trivia. During WW2 the MCG stadium served as a home for some time for the US 1st Marine Division while recuperating from the battle of Guadalcanal. In gratitude for the warm welcome they received from Melbournians they adopted the iconic Australian tune Waltzing Matilda as their official march tune and incorporated the Southern Cross from the Australian Flag into their insignia.

Optus Stadium is absolutely the best. While the MCG is without doubt awesome and historic, Optus is designed for peak player/ performer/ press / and spectator comfort. It is quite simply extraordinary. The cauldron atmosphere really does rival the MCG There is a great video or two out there on Optus Stadium and I think you’d like to see.

There are plenty of metrics to measure "best ground", but my top 3 would be The Adelaide Oval, The MCG & Optus Stadium. Each have their own awesomeness but they certainly are the 3 best grounds in Australia.

As mentioned previously, the manual scoreboard and fig trees at Adelaide Oval are heritage listed and can’t be destroyed, as are the Members and Ladies Pavilion at the SCG. I’ve been in a 52,000+ crowd at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane for both State of Origin and the A-League Grand Final. Amazing atmosphere. I’ve also done the MCG tour and got to visit the Long Room where all the honour boards are, and sat where the cricketers sit while waiting to bat. To be sitting right where the like of Sir Donald Bradman, Greg Chappell and Ricky Ponting once sat was surreal!

The MCG holds just over 100,000 seats…. Grand final days Go Off!

MCG for history, Optus for fan experience/viewing, Adelaide Oval for looks

If I were to rate my top 3, it would be 1. Adelaide Oval- because of the hill, scoreboard and overall facilities 2. MCG- due to capacity and ease of access from public transport (not saying the other stadiums are bad, just this seems to have more connections which aren’t buses) 3. SCG- Due to the beautiful heritage stands and the fact that I’m partially biased because I live in Sydney (¯\_(ツ)_/¯) Also 4 would be Perth and 5 would be Manuka

I worked/volunteered at the Gabba for the Sydney Olympics it hosted soccer for the games and there is a stadium at Homebush where the 2000 Olympics were held

The lights at Optus stadium are so bright and evenly applied there is almost no shadows on the field. Also you don’t notice the sun has gone down until they turn the lights off.

I was at the afl grand final last year with over 100 thousand people it was amazing

I feel they barely scratched the surface with Optus Stadium. The location is right on the river, they have a foot bridge from the city to the stadium which lights up and do zipline tours, as does the stadium that can light up on the exterior. And then they have a balcony that looks back to the city and has a magnificent view. There's something special about the screens as well but can't recall what they said when I went, as some tourism workers got to tour it before it opened.

went and watched the pm XI cricket match many years ago at manuka oval, being up close and personal with the players at the little white fence was so worth it.

When they were talking about matching colours at Blundstone, they meant the stands themselves, not the seating. That random seat colour is a commonly used practice for stadiums that helps to make them look fuller when the crowd numbers are low.

Check out some of the light shows they have had at Optus in Perth, it was the most advanced lighting rig installed in a stadium when it was built, even to outside all lights up in different themes, depending on what is the theme of the city/game at the time

He needed to mention the Optus (Perth) Stadiums Sky Bar, it sits on the top of the stadium and has a terrace on the outside away from the ground that looks back over the city across the river. Stunning views i doubt you will get at any other stadium in Oz, brilliant for night games at breaks etc. Perfect for necking one back on a summer evening.

Suncorp Stadium Brisbane has the best spectator/ game atmosphere as spectators sit so close and it makes you feel part of the game. Pre major works on SCG the ground was a great place to watch sport as it had a country like fell with all the old pavilions. When they moved a few pavilions they didn’t demolish them, they were moved to not North Sydney Oval to maintain that federation feel. Thank you for reviewing our stadiums. Avagratedae.

Should see the WA stadium at night, when it puts on the light show.

MCG is amazing mate, if you ever make it to Australia it’ll knock your socks off & Adelaide oval is also awesome

You mentioned that some grounds look small but you need to remember that the round and oval ones are huge as they cricket grounds. An NFL field would fit in twice or more times into them. Rugby League and Union play in rectangular stadiums as they are a rectangular game. AFL plays in cricket stadiums as they also use an oval field. Also, the types of football played is quite regional with League and Union being more popular in NSW and Queensland while AFL is stronger in Victoria and South Australia. Cricket is enjoyed everywhere as is soccer.

In most eras in AFL history, after the game was over, the field was open to the fans to kick balls back and forth from each-other. That democratises things. I remember (at the MCG) when a kid who was probably 11 years old got a football in the head, and his 'father' gave a lecture to the boy (rather than eviscerate the origin of the flying pig skin) and he told him, "This will happen to you when you're playing. Everyone is having fun here. But It will feel way worse when you have an opposition player who wants to find your weak spot." That's a paraphrase.

Manuka Oval only looks small because of the lack of tall stands. Its playing surface is the same size as the MCG. Capacity is 13500. The other stadium in Canberra is the aptly named Canberra Stadium, which is rectangular and has a capacity of 27500. I have been at both at capacity and it is a great time.

Just north of Marrara, in Darwin, is the Rugby Union ground - I designed the roof for it sometime in the mid '90s. The reason that footy and cricket share the same shaped ground, and in turn why these grounds are used all year round is because footy was created to keep cricket players fit over the winter hence they just made use of the same ground. The first footy match was basically played on the same ground as to where the MCG stands today between two Melbourne schools, Melbourne Grammar and Scotch College, although Wikipedia mentions something between Melbourne Grammar and St Kilda Grammar that predates this.

Perth (Optus) stadium was very costly to build partly high labour costs, but also some of the land it was built on was contaminated, because the site used to be in a past life the site of a rubbish dump., then a golf course. That is besides in the lead up to this another site had been chosen for the Stadium project, then a change in the State Government, moved the site to where the Stadium is actually built and change in design.

Suncorp Stadium is probably my favourite place.

A fantastic thing about the MCG is its accessibility from all suburbs across Melbourne. 8 train lines stop at Richmond Station which exits on the southside of the stadium; another 2 train lines stop at Jolimont Station on the northside of the stadium; it's only a 15 minute walk on a dedicated riverside pedestrian walk from the CBD and Melbourne's main station (Flinders St) which all the remaining train lines stop at, and 3 different tram routes run straight past it too. Basically you can very easily get there by tram or train from about 230 different suburbs. No traffic jams to get in or out, and the neighbouring area of Richmond is always pumping on game nights, as people train to Richmond then meet for dinner & drinks at one of its countless pubs before the game.

The seats at Blundstone Arena are coloured randomly to make it seem full even when there is no crowd. See the Gabba in Queensland to experience this effect more graphically.

WA's Optus Stadium was the host for WWE's Elimination Chamber Event in Feb this year. Optus to me looks like aspects of Suncorp and the MCG were blended together Suncorp is used for Rugby League, Rugby Union, Soccer and a heap of Big Concerts. I saw Robbie Wiliams there in 2006, acts like Pink and Phil Collins have been there in recent years.

I live in Perth and I love Perth Optus Stadium, been to a few AFL / Cricket/Rugby and soccer matches but I've been to MCG once for AFL Preliminary final game between Sydney Swans and Geelong cats and I enjoyed it very much.

Sydney Cricket Ground that was built in the 1840s, has changed allot over the years. Melbourne Cricket Ground that was built in the 1850s, also has it's fair share of changes. Both are iconic Australian Sporting arenas.

All these stadiums in cities have the best public transport access and very limited parking. There are drop off spots for taxis and Ubers etc but you can’t stay there for more than 5 mins. Fun fact you can also ride your bike or scooter there as well.

As a local the MCG gets my vote… always took it for granted, until overseas friends during a visit wanted to do a tour - it’s quite impressive. It’s also multifunctional hosting concerts.

My good friends have a lovely view of the water and the Blundstone Arena (Bellerive Oval). Very nice!!

Great choice Ian, I worked there back in the later 70's selling merchandise, it a great time. Thanks for the memory, and have watched a couple of grand finals there. It is one of Victorias greatest assets

I'm a random Indian dude who's randomly been recommended this video, but Optus Stadium is probably my favourite stadium in cricket. The stadium has, finally, propelled our sport into the 21st century

Great video, you should have a look at some of the other videos on that guys channel about aussie stadiums if you're interested, i belive hes done one on all the AFL, NRL and A-league ones as well