MCG’s flammable cladding to remain for Boxing Day Test
Despite the MCG remaining empty for months, works to remove flammable cladding at the stadium have still not begun.
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Works to remove flammable cladding from the Melbourne Cricket Ground remain incomplete ahead of the start of the Boxing Day Test.
Despite months without sport at the stadium, cladding removal is yet to take place in some parts of the Northern Stand.
Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox said removal works would begin after the conclusion of the Test match and be completed before the Round 1 AFL season opener between Richmond and Carlton.
But Mr Fox has assured fans safety during the cricket is not an issue.
“The MCG has high level safety measures in place with 24/7 security, smoking bans, permanent sprinkler systems, fire safety plans and numerous access and exit points which is why the stadium continues to be safe for occupancy,” Mr Fox said.
Just 30,000 fans will be permitted on each day of the Test because of COVID-19 restrictions with hopes of far bigger crowds in time for the footy.
Cladding around the ticket booths and MCG entrances was removed from the Southern Stand prior to the Boxing Day Test last year.
The Melbourne Cricket Club Trust is also set to lodge a submission with the Building Appeals Board in the hope that further cladding at the ground will be permitted to remain in place.
Cladding Safety Victoria CEO Dan O’Brien said: “We’re working with the Melbourne Cricket Club and MCG Trust to help guide their cladding rectification of the MCG.
“The MCG has always been deemed safe to occupy, some higher-risk cladding has already been removed and other cladding will be coming off in the next few months.”
Flammable cladding was discovered at the MCG and hundreds of properties and high-rises across Melbourne in 2019, including the AFL-owned Marvel Stadium in the Docklands.
It followed a fire at the Neo200 tower in Spencer St caused by a cigarette butt on a 22nd floor balcony where hundreds of residents were evacuated.
It took 80 firefighters to bring the blaze under control.
A $600 million cladding rectification scheme was unveiled by the government eighteen months ago.
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