Cameron White is hopeful his three and a half year absence from the national one day side will come to an end in time for the World Cup.
The MCG, one of the world’s great stadiums. Source: News Limited
IT’S one of the great cities of the world. Fantastic culture, infrastructure — and paradise for sports lovers.
But every time I go there, I leave frustrated.
Frustrated with Sydney, for failing to get it right.
Just last Friday, I arrived at Tullamarine airport about 4pm. Within half an hour I was in the CBD. Hardly any traffic at 4pm on a Friday.
A few hours later, I was able to make the easy walk from Flinders St Station to the Melbourne Cricket Ground to catch the Twenty20 between Australia and South Africa. Fifteen minutes, just over 1km. And a dedicated walking path and bridge all the way to the gates.
Saturday, despite it being 34C, saw tens of thousands flock to Flemington racecourse to close out the Melbourne Cup carnival with Emirates Stakes Day — a family affair that sees as many children through the turnstiles as fascinators.
It was on Sunday that it really hit me, though.
Melbourne's sporting precinct puts Sydney to shame. Source: News Limited
As I toured the MCG and neighbouring Melbourne Park tennis centre and AAMI Park, I realised that Sydney would never be able to match this sporting precinct in my lifetime.
And even if Sydney tried, Melbourne is already taking steps to get better.
Take Margaret Court Arena’s new roof, a $183 million project that makes the Australian Open the only grand slam in the world with three courts with retractable roofs that allow play to go on when the scorching weather hits, or rain falls.
Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios inside the new-look Margaret Court Arena. Source: News Corp Australia
For so many reasons, Melbourne will always be Australia’s sporting capital:
• A high quality transport system and close proximity of the sports precinct to the CBD makes attending sport attractive, rather than a burden;
• The MCG is one of the world’s great stadiums and is constantly being updated to keep pace with modern trends;
• AFL is a far better live game than rugby league due to its three-dimensional nature, so the crowds and club memberships will continue to grow as the NRL relies on its TV product;
• The Boxing Day Test is cricket’s showpiece event every year;
• The Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix will attract a new level of interest with the emergence of Daniel Ricciardo as a homegrown superstar;
• The National Sports Museum is a fantastic tribute to our proud history, but is also brilliant for kids with interactive sections where you can kick goals and shoot hoops.
The point is, as a sports nut in Sydney it should not be so hard to get motivated to make the trek out to half-full stadiums to watch things live.
It shouldn’t be like that, but I know I’m not the only Sydneysider who feels this way.
We should look to Melbourne and learn from Melbourne.
Otherwise the gap is only going to widen.
Keep the conversation going. Tweet @cam_tomarchio
No comments:
Post a Comment