Latest news with #MelbourneCricketClub
ABC News
14-07-2025
- ABC News
Man sentenced to nearly two years in prison after bringing loaded gun to AFL game at MCG
A 27-year-old man has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for carrying a firearm into the MCG earlier this year. Mohammad Noori was sentenced in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday, after pleading guilty to dozens of firearms and motor vehicle offences. The court heard he carried a loaded, unregistered firearm with an altered serial number into the stadium during an AFL match between Collingwood and Carlton in April. There were more than 82,000 fans inside the venue at the time. In a statement released shortly after the incident, Melbourne Cricket Club chief executive Stuart Fox said the security breach appeared to be the result of human error after personnel failed to follow up an alert by the stadium's artificial-intelligence screening system. The court heard Noori and his co-accused — 21 year old Omar Salma — were issued a verbal warning and then told to leave the venue, following an alleged altercation with a security guard on 8:30pm on April 3. When police intervened to assist security staff, Noori resisted arrest and a later search of the 27-year-old uncovered a loaded firearm stashed in Noori's underpants. There were no reported injuries. Magistrate Brett Sonnet told the court it was one of two firearms allegedly located by Victoria Police between the pair that evening. In sentencing, Magistrate Sonnet said Noori's offending warranted "significant punishment" and that he had a "high risk of further offending". "Unless serious steps are taken to address the underlying issues … the accused is unlikely to lead a law-abiding lifestyle," he said. Monday's sentence included a non-parole period of 12 months. The court heard Noori emigrated from Iran to Australia in 2004 and struggled at school until he dropped out when he was 15. Magistrate Sonnet also detailed a history of childhood trauma and drug and alcohol abuse. "At the time of the incident on 3 April 2025, the accused was affected by drugs and alcohol," Mr Sonnet said. The court heard the 27-year-old's history was littered with criminal offences, including two serious road rage incidents, which Mr Sonnet described as "frightening and disgraceful". In 2022, Noori poured a milkshake on a driver's vehicle and spat at her following a dispute over a car park. In a second road-related incident in 2024, he confronted and assaulted a victim who had asked him to move his car. Noori's co-accused, Omar Salma also faced the Melbourne Magistrate's Court for a brief hearing on Monday morning. The 21-year-old remains in custody and will return to court for a plea hearing in September.
News.com.au
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- News.com.au
MCC ex-boss David Jones' secret mancave scores big payday
A Cremorne warehouse where former Melbourne Cricket Club president David Jones displayed his lifetime's collection of classic cars and memorabilia has revved to a $2.2m sale. Mr Jones' family put the property on the market following his death in February and it went under the hammer earlier this week. It's good news for the remainder of the 750 auctions scheduled across Victoria this week, according to PropTrack. $20m upgrade for TAC HQ targets working parents, access, inclusion Aside from his time at the cricket club's helm, Mr Jones served as gaming and lottery giant Tattersall's chairman and for nine years as the Moomba Festival's chairman. He was also an ex-Victorian Chamber of Commerce director and a Rotary Club of Melbourne long-term member and past president. The avid car collector's warehouse at 116 Green St showcased a 1972 Ferrari Dino GT, 1955 MG Roadster, circa-1913 '6-666' number plate and collectibles such as vehicle parts. Commercial real estate agency Colliers Melbourne director Ben Baines said the cars and other items would be sold separately by Donington Auctions on July 12 and 13. 'A lot of groups asked us if they could purchase both the property and memorabilia,' Mr Baines said. However, the 290sq m warehouse itself turned out to be popular with buyers after six bidders contested Thursday's auction. 'The majority of those parties were looking to have something similar to what Mr Jones had,' Mr Baines said. A local owner-occupier snapped up the warehouse that was listed with circa-$2m price hopes. Mr Baines said the sale demonstrated the strength of Cremorne and Richmond's commercial market, which has seen increased demand since the Reserve Bank's rate cuts earlier this year. 'A lot of that demand has been from interstate and international buyers as well,' Mr Baines added. Fellow listing agent, Teska Carson director Matthew Feld, said that the warehouse was one of the best he had seen hit the local market for some time. 'We had expected it to generate strong interest,' he said. Donington Auctions' website states that the 1972 Ferrari GT Dino Coupe is expected to sell for a sum between $800,000 to $1m, with bids starting at $400,000.
The Guardian
03-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
Architect behind MCG's Shane Warne Stand says mooted upgrades ‘don't pass the pub test'
The architect who helped design the MCG's Shane Warne Stand has urged the Melbourne Cricket Club to reconsider plans to demolish and replace the venerated grandstand, given the mooted upgrades – estimated to cost $200,000 per additional seat – don't 'pass the pub test'. The towering structure formerly known as the Great Southern Stand, which won a prominent design award as recently as 2020 and is younger than Collingwood midfielder Steele Sidebottom, was completed in 1992 on the narrow envelope between the hallowed MCG turf and Brunton Avenue, adjacent to the train tracks south of the stadium. It was renamed in honour of Warne after the leg-spinner's death in 2022. MCC president, Fred Oldfield, told members at his organisation's AGM last year the 45,000-seat stand, which received a $55m refurbishment in 2012, will need a 'complete rebuild' at some stage, and the chief executive, Stuart Fox, has described it as a 'priority'. The MCC operates the ground on behalf of the Victorian government-appointed MCG Trust, the organisation chaired by former Victorian premier Steve Bracks with former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire on its board. The state government provided $2m for a 'pre-feasibility' study in 2022 for the renovations. Ahead of the MCC's August AGM, where the matter is expected to be raised, recently retired Peter Cole, the project architect for the Great Southern Stand during his five decades at Jackson Architecture, said replacing the imposing structure shouldn't be considered for another decade at least. 'I don't know what an improvement would look like, because you can only do so much with the seats, you can make them wider and more padded, which is what we did in the Northern Stand when we rebuilt that, and you can make these incremental improvements, but it's not radical, it's just slightly better,' he said. 'After all, the most important function of the stand is to provide the maximum number of seats with excellent site lines as close to the action as possible. The larger you make each individual seat, inevitably more are further away.' The Southern Stand's lead architect, Daryl Jackson, Cole's longtime colleague, was unavailable to comment. One of Jackson's last public appearances was a speech accepting the Enduring Architecture Award for the building at the 2020 Victorian Architecture Awards, almost 30 years after it had won the Victorian Architecture Medal. 'Daryl would be mortified if the Southern Stand was pulled down,' Cole said. 'It has become such a familiar part of the MCG, with its recognisable roof structure and robust concrete ramps and stairs that were carefully designed to slope inwards to appear as buttresses.' The MCC has said renovations would include better amenities and additional seats for members and an increase in capacity to 105,000 has been publicly discussed, however Cole said that makes little sense. 'As it is relatively rare for the MCG to reach full capacity, such a marginal increase is hard to justify when you consider the huge cost and disruption that demolition and rebuild of the Southern Stand would mean,' Cole said. 'It works out at roughly $200,000 per extra seat, given a probable bill of about a billion dollars. It doesn't pass the pub test.' Sign up to From the Pocket: AFL Weekly Jonathan Horn brings expert analysis on the week's biggest AFL stories after newsletter promotion Although the Victorian government has been supportive of the project in the past, its weakening budget position has made it less likely to be able to financially support a costly rebuild in the short to medium term. However, the MCC is in a strong financial position, with more than 100,000 fee-paying members helping deliver $188m in revenue in the year to 31 March 2024, and a profit of $32m. MCC officials have discussed funding a large proportion of any renovation using internal revenues and a loan. Fox told members at last year's AGM the club 'has made great inroads in paying off debt, which enables the club to invest into the future,. Discussions are ongoing with the Victorian government for assistance, but the [Shane Warne] Stand will remain a priority.' Cole urged those involved to consider retaining at least some of the existing structure. 'Part of my problem with it is that a premature demolition would be such a waste of embodied energy at a time when we are trying to limit our carbon emissions.' Accessibility requirements have progressed in the 35 years since the stand was designed. Cole acknowledged there are legitimate concerns relating to the lack of disabled access to the stand's upper deck, but he noted this could be remedied by retrofitting platforms that would provide wheelchair access from the upper deck concourse. A new structure is likely to face the same design constraints given the Great Southern Stand, unlike the Northern Stand, had to be planned within a very narrow curved site. Cole said this was due to the government's insistence on retaining a historic title boundary that prevented intrusion into Yarra Park, as well as the constriction of Brunton Avenue.
Sydney Morning Herald
06-06-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘I just can't put on shoes and socks': Dermott Brereton's crippling legacy
Former Hawthorn great and media commentator Dermott Brereton has graphically described how he cannot put his shoes and socks on, and struggles to walk down stairs or shake hands on some days, due to the severe physical toll of playing football. In a powerful speech at the Melbourne Cricket Club, Brereton, who played in a famously combative style, detailed how his present life was impacted by injuries, how he struggled to sleep due to shoulder pain and that he was still feeling the impact of taking anti-inflammatory medications for four decades. 'Some mornings my beautiful partner Julie has to put on my shoes and socks for me. With the pain in my spine, where they put in a cage inserted there, I can't reach. I just can't put on socks and shoes,' Brereton, a five-time premiership centre half-forward for Hawthorn and one of the AFL's most visible commentators, told the function at the MCC dining room. 'Some days I have to walk down the stairs sideways because I haven't any cartilage - bone on bone, that is - for 40 years,' Brereton said, in his 'Ode to football' for the Norm Smith Oration at the MCG. 'Some days I can't shake hands with other men, and if they do so, I fear they'll re-open some of the broken bones in my hands from defenders' spoils and from when [an opponent] jumped on my hand deliberately. 'Some days I have to crab my way the stairs because my often half-a-dozen times reconstructed ankle will not flex any more.' Brereton's description of his physical ailments came in the final minutes of a speech – a mix of humour and pathos – in which he detailed his journey as the son of immigrants in Frankston to footy stardom as Hawthorn's centre half-forward. He was followed by another champion of that era, Tim Watson, whose light-hearted recollections were highlighted by humorous accounts of his recruitment by Essendon, his family in Dimboola and the eccentricities of legendary coach Kevin Sheedy. 'To be honest with you, Tim, Essendon and our [mid-'80s] battles took you to the edge of safety, and, for me, that is always where you get the best view of life,' Brereton said.
The Age
06-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
‘I just can't put on shoes and socks': Dermott Brereton's crippling legacy
Former Hawthorn great and media commentator Dermott Brereton has graphically described how he cannot put his shoes and socks on, and struggles to walk down stairs or shake hands on some days, due to the severe physical toll of playing football. In a powerful speech at the Melbourne Cricket Club, Brereton, who played in a famously combative style, detailed how his present life was impacted by injuries, how he struggled to sleep due to shoulder pain and that he was still feeling the impact of taking anti-inflammatory medications for four decades. 'Some mornings my beautiful partner Julie has to put on my shoes and socks for me. With the pain in my spine, where they put in a cage inserted there, I can't reach. I just can't put on socks and shoes,' Brereton, a five-time premiership centre half-forward for Hawthorn and one of the AFL's most visible commentators, told the function at the MCC dining room. 'Some days I have to walk down the stairs sideways because I haven't any cartilage - bone on bone, that is - for 40 years,' Brereton said, in his 'Ode to football' for the Norm Smith Oration at the MCG. 'Some days I can't shake hands with other men, and if they do so, I fear they'll re-open some of the broken bones in my hands from defenders' spoils and from when [an opponent] jumped on my hand deliberately. 'Some days I have to crab my way the stairs because my often half-a-dozen times reconstructed ankle will not flex any more.' Brereton's description of his physical ailments came in the final minutes of a speech – a mix of humour and pathos – in which he detailed his journey as the son of immigrants in Frankston to footy stardom as Hawthorn's centre half-forward. He was followed by another champion of that era, Tim Watson, whose light-hearted recollections were highlighted by humorous accounts of his recruitment by Essendon, his family in Dimboola and the eccentricities of legendary coach Kevin Sheedy. 'To be honest with you, Tim, Essendon and our [mid-'80s] battles took you to the edge of safety, and, for me, that is always where you get the best view of life,' Brereton said.
