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Victoria set for Boxing Day Test following massive economic return from ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

June 30, 2015
Category: Media Releases,
Victoria set for Boxing Day Test following massive economic return from ICC Cricket World Cup 2015

The MCG will host the traditional Melbourne Boxing Day Test again this year after 720,814 people visited the home of cricket during the 14/15 Cricket Season, including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

  • More than 720,000 people witness Cricket at the MCG over the 2014-15 season
  • $410 million generated in direct spending for Victorian economy in World Cup coup
  • The Cricket World Cup generated 154,000 international and interstate visitors

The MCG will host the traditional Melbourne Boxing Day Test again this year after 720,814 people visited the home of cricket during the 2014-15 Cricket Season, including the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.

In a report released today by Cricket Australia, Victoria has seen the biggest economic benefit from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 tournament. The state hosted five matches including the final featuring Australia and New Zealand with around 154,000 unique international and interstate cricket fans visiting Victoria for the tournament and spending $305 million throughout the state.

The tournament generated a total of $410 million in direct spending in Victoria, creating the equivalent of 2,790 jobs and 835,000 bed nights.

The findings are part of an economic impact and benefits analysis carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers which shows the tournament generated more than $AU 1.1 billion in direct spending across Australia and New Zealand.

Three of the five matches at the MCG sold out – England v Australia, India v South Africa and the Final (Australia v New Zealand). These matches all rank within the top five attendances for ODI cricket matches in Australia. The Final, played on March 29, attracted 93,013 people – the largest crowd for any form of cricket in Australian history.

The highest attended pool match of the tournament was at the MCG where 86,876 fans watched India play South Africa. This was more people than attended Australia v England, demonstrating both the level of engagement of Australia’s multicultural communities and the number of interstate and international visitors.

Cricket World Cup 2015 Chief Executive Officer John Harnden, said the tournament had reinforced Victoria and Melbourne’s reputation for successfully hosting major events.

“The World Cup was seen by more than 1.5 billion people around the world, but importantly it also made a very positive contribution to employment and prosperity in Victoria,” Mr Harnden said.

“We had fantastic support at every stage from successive Victorian Governments and are pleased to have repaid that support with these results – over 150,000 international and interstate fans visited Melbourne, spending over 300 million dollars within the state.”

Cricket Australia’s Executive General Manager of Operations, Mike McKenna, said the outstanding success and popularity of the sport proved that cricket was Victoria’s most popular sport and a significant contributor to the local economy. 

“With another strong program of cricket this season, we are looking forward to driving large attendance and participation numbers,” Mr McKenna said. “The success of the World Cup in attracting Australians of diverse backgrounds has created a fantastic platform for similar or even greater success for cricket.

“Work will commence on Junction Oval later this year offering an alternative first class cricket venue in Victoria and further increasing the state’s major event hosting capability, particularly ahead of the ICC World T20 being hosted by Australia in 2020,” Mr McKenna concluded.

Other men’s and women’s international and domestic series including the KFC Big Bash League and Women’s Big Bash League schedules will be announced in due course.

The full ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 economic impact announcement and PwC report can be viewed here.

TICKETING INFORMATION

The best way for Australian fans to secure tickets to the 2015-16 international season is the Australian Cricket Family (ACF).

Membership is free and provides priority access and a discount to tickets (compared to pre-purchase and at-the-gate ticket prices).

Members of the ACF who live overseas do not receive priority access to tickets. Fans have until 5pm AEST on Tuesday 11 August to register for the ACF and qualify for access to the priority ticketing period and other membership benefits. More information at www.cricket.com.au/acf.

On-Sale Ticket Dates for 2015-16 International Season

Tuesday 18 August 2015

ACF Gold Priority Period

Starts 9am (local time) in all states.  Period closes 5pm local time

Wednesday 19 August 2015 – Thursday 20 August 2015

ACF Priority Period

Starts 12pm (local time) in all states. Period closes 5pm local time on Thursday 20 August

Friday 21 August 2015

General Public on sale

Starts 10am (local time) in all states

If you are interested in coming to the cricket in a group of 10 or more people, contact our Group Ticket Sales team who can help you purchase your tickets right now at www.cricketaustralia.com.au/groups.

Alternatively, take your cricket experience to the next level in Cricket Australia’s Official Hospitality.  We have created a range of hospitality options to give you the perfect cricket experience for you and your guests. Find out more at http://www.cricketaustralia.com.au/hospitality. Groups and Hospitality packages for the Commonwealth Bank Test Series will go on sale from 1 July.

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