MCC membership: 40-year wait for guaranteed AFL Grand final ticket

The waitlist for one of the most sought-after memberships has ballooned to 200,000 as sports fans join the queue to score tickets to world-class events.

MCC members line up during AFL finals. Picture: Julian Smith

Sports fans hoping to score the best seats at the MCG through an MCC membership face a 20-year wait.

The queue to join one of Australia’s most exclusive clubs and take in footy, cricket and world-class events at Australia’s best sports stadium has ballooned, with more than 200,000 on the waiting list.

Those hoping for full MCC membership — and a guaranteed AFL Grand final ticket — face a 40-year wait.

There is a 40-year wait for a full MCC membership.

And footy fans hoping to score a guaranteed seat to see their team play in a grand final at the MCG face a 15 to 17 year wait for the equivalent AFL membership.

In a statement, the MCC said two years of Covid lockdowns had done nothing to quell the demand for membership and long waitlists now existed for all categories.

“Under current modelling, if someone was to sign up to be a waiting list candidate today it would take approximately 20 years to be offered Provisional membership,’’ it said.

“It would take approximately 10 years to be offered the restricted category and another 10 years to reach full membership.’’

There are more people waiting to become MCC members than the 150,000 people already in its ranks.

The current intake for provisional membership includes waiting list candidates nominated from September until November 2006 — when John Howard was Prime Minister and Melbourne’s median house price about $352,000.

Former PM John Howard at the MCG watching a Crows versus Roos grand final.

Those recently granted full MCC membership, which guarantees an AFL Grand Final ticket and entry to all days of the Boxing Day Test, applied between July and September 1992.

The MCC said there were no immediate plans to fast track memberships or increase numbers.

The best hope fans may have of skipping the queue is an upcoming $1 billion MCG redevelopment which would see the venue’s capacity increased from 100,000 to 105,000. When the northern stand of the MCG was redeveloped between 2002-2006, MCC membership ranks swelled as the ground’s governing body helped pay for the refurbishment.

A similar move could see the current wait time and total membership numbers tweaked.

“The wait time to be offered membership has not changed drastically over the years,’’ the MCC said.

The wait list for gold AFL Memberships – which guarantee grand final seats for competing club members and a ticket ballot for others – has also grown.

Footy fans need to become silver AFL members and join a wait list for gold membership.

Full adult metropolitan membership of the MCC costs $790 per year, with restricted membership $615 and provisional $395.

Regional, interstate and overseas memberships of the exclusive club are cheaper.

AFL gold membership costs about $625.