Record 80,000 Big Bash League crowd at the MCG

The MCG hosted a crowd of 80,883 for the Melbourne Stars v Melbourne Renegades Big Bash League (BBL) clash last night (Saturday 2nd January), a record domestic crowd for the competition.

However, the unexpectedly large crowd did create problems for organisers, with Cricket Australia issuing an apology to fans who were left outside the MCG well after the start of play as new security measures led to delays in fans entering the venue.

According to reports, more than 24,000 people remained outside the venue as the new counter-terrorism fence and under-staffed security checkpoints slowed entry to the facility.

While apologising for the entry delay’s Cricket Australia’s spokesperson defended the security screening, stating “the Melbourne Cricket Ground has been highly proactive in their security measures for major cricket events this summer.

"The match tonight experienced an unprecedented record crowd for domestic cricket. We thank fans for their patience and apologise for the delays experienced entering the ground tonight.

"The safety and security of our fans, players and officials is always our number one priority and rest assured we'll continue to work with the MCG to ensure everyone has a fantastic experience at any cricket event this summer."

Management at both the MCG and the Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust have each advised fans of the likely entry delays that enhanced security measure introduced in the wake of the Paris terror attack in November. -

As a sign of BBL’s growing popularity, Saturday night's crowd figure easily eclipsed the 53,389-strong crowd that watched the first day of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and West Indies.

The previous BBL attendance record of 52,637, set at Adelaide Oval.

Image courtesy of the Melbourne Stars/Facebook.

1st January 2016 - SCG TRUST ADVISES FANS TO PLAN FOR ENHANCED TEST MATCH SECURITY

28th December 2015 - 90 FANS EJECTED FROM THE MCG DURING DAY ONE OF THE BOXING DAY TEST

8th December 2015 - ATTRACTION, EVENT AND VENUE OPERATORS GIVEN ADVICE ON HOW TO PROTECT PATRONS IN A MASS SHOOTING

2nd December 2015 - AUSTRALIAN VENUES TO BOOST SECURITY FOLLOWING PARIS ATTACKS