Australian Sports Museum welcomes record 175,000 visitors in last financial year

The Australian Sports Museum has advised that it welcomed more than 175,000 visitors over the last financial year.

In a statement it advised that the achievement was “a credit to our Tourism and Museum Team and our 300-strong volunteer cohort, who make sure every single visit is a special one.”

Located at the MCG, the Museum features exhibits for sports such as cricket, AFL, the Summer and Winter Olympic Games, tennis, rugby league, rugby union, football, basketball, boxing and netball.

The Australian Sports Hall of Fame sits within the museum along with the Australian Racing Museum and the Melbourne Cricket Club Museum.

Initially opened in 1986, in 2020 the Museum was transformed as a result of $5 million investment from the Victorian Government that introduced an Australian football section with an interactive Hall of Fame, the upgrade introduced an education zone for school groups, new characters added to the popular ‘Pepper’s Ghost’ holograms including Richmond Football Club premiership hero Bachar Houli and Carlton AFLW star Tayla Harris, and a gallery celebrating Australia’s sporting culture.

It is also home to Australia’s largest collection of sporting memorabilia, including Don Bradman’s baggy green cap, Cathy Freeman’s running suit from the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games cauldron.