If you ever find yourself strolling through the streets of Melbourne on a weekend, do not be surprised if you’re swept up in a tide of sporting fever.
It is only when you set foot in Melbourne that you appreciate just why the city is widely recognised as the sporting capital of the world.
It has carried the weight of that crown with poise, boasting an unparalleled track record and reputation. Even the most passionate sporting junkie could overdose in Garden City.
Melbourne’s obsession with sports dates back to its very beginnings. There are so many sports staged in the city that it is hard to determine which dominates the local conversation the most.
A strong case could be made for horse racing, particularly the craze surrounding the Melbourne Cup, but that is just one piece of a much larger puzzle.
With global heavyweights such as the NFL and NBA heading to Melbourne, the city’s status as the sporting capital of the world has been truly vindicated.
The crown jewels of global sport
Melbourne is the only city on the planet that hosts a tennis Grand Slam and a Formula One world championship race, and that is not a fluke.
The Australian Open made history as the highest-attended Grand Slam in tennis in January, while the Australian Grand Prix returned to the highly anticipated season-opening slot in mid-March.
The GP is a spectacle, and Melbourne’s leg of the F1 calendar will remain a mainstay in the prestigious championship until at least 2035.
There is also the Boxing Day Test Match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) – a cricket events that draws record crowds every year.
That trend is expected to continue in December when more than 80,000 fans descend on the MCG to watch Australia take on England in a battle for The Ashes.
Garden City is also home to the iconic Flemington Racecourse, which hosts the Melbourne Cup. On the first Tuesday of every November, workplaces pause, bars overflow and televisions across the country are tuned into ‘the race that stops the nation’.
The event lives up to its global reputation, offering fans a thrilling horse racing festival fuelled by fashion, food and betting.
Melbourne’s betting culture surrounding the Cup is as ingrained as the race itself, with the sportsbooks featured on comparison website australianbettingsites.net.au rolling out odds and promotions months before the event.
With detailed bookmaker reviews on many different betting sites in Australia, the platform is the perfect place to get insights into the Melbourne showpiece.
For many Aussie sports fans, placing a wager on the Cup is as much a tradition as donning fascinators or sipping champagne trackside.
The Melbourne Cup is a unique combination of sport and spectacle, and the city embraces this iconic competition with unbridled enthusiasm.
A Solid Infrastructure Supported by Long-Term Planning
One of the primary reasons Melbourne can pull off these feats is its infrastructure. The city’s sports precinct is astonishingly well-designed.
The MCG, Rod Laver Arena and AAMI Park are located within walking distance of one another and are incredibly well connected by 12 train lines at two stations.
There are also three separate tram lines that directly access the area and Yarra Park, which provides plenty of parking space for those brave enough to traverse the roads.
When you compare that to Wembley Stadium in London or the MetLife Stadium in New York, you start to see why Melbourne has the edge.
Wembley is 45 minutes away from London’s central business district (CBD) by train. The same can be said for the MetLife Stadium – home to the NFL’s New York Giants and New York Jets – which is only accessible by car, train or bus.
Capital cities could never dream of being so close to their sporting stadiums, but Melbourne is truly blessed.
That means making the trip to watch football or tennis requires very little planning. In fact, you can make the last-minute decision to go without having to travel great distances across the city.
Another crucial part of what makes Melbourne the sporting capital of the world is the city’s long-term goal and how they secure and keep hold of high-profile events.
The Australian Open was initially hosted by five capital cities but was moved to Melbourne in 1972 after organisers recognised the city’s unmatched passion and high patronage.
Melbourne also snatched the F1 GP from Adelaide when the city was caught napping in 1995, and South Australia hasn’t recovered from that huge blow.
Backed by government funds, Melbourne’s long-term vision has become a blueprint for others to follow, and there’s no denying that the city is truly the sporting capital of the world.
