{"id":79213,"date":"2026-08-24T11:00:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T11:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/79213\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T11:00:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T11:00:14","slug":"craig-tileys-radical-blueprint-for-melbournes-sporting-precinct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/79213\/","title":{"rendered":"Craig Tiley\u2019s radical blueprint for Melbourne\u2019s sporting precinct"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victoria should lean into bold new funding streams such as building apartments and hotels in the heart of Melbourne\u2019s iconic sporting precinct, outgoing Australian Open boss Craig Tiley has declared.<\/p>\n

The man responsible <\/a>for transforming the AO into the nation\u2019s biggest sporting event has outlined a radical blueprint for the future of Australia\u2019s greatest cluster of sports and event stadiums.<\/p>\n

It includes the prospect of building on land near the MCG, Melbourne Park and AAMI Park.<\/p>\n

In an exclusive interview before leaving Australia to run US tennis, Mr Tiley told the Herald Sun more needed to be done to ensure Melbourne\u2019s famed sporting hub remained globally relevant and retained major events.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t stand still,\u201d Mr Tiley said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve got to keep evolving, you\u2019ve got to keep creating, and everything moves so quickly now.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Victoria could no longer rely on broke governments to fund the infrastructure needed to attract world-class events and different funding sources were needed to bankroll the next stage of infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got to open our eyes to knowing that this needs to be an option on the table and others need to lean in and fund it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He urged Victoria \u201cto look again at this intersect between private and public funding\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said apartments, including build-to-rent homes, could be constructed in the Melbourne and Olympic Parks precinct as a new way to attract private investment and bring more people to the area regularly.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be a property developer who says \u2018by connecting to the precinct I\u2019m going to build one or two hotels\u2019,\u201d Mr Tiley said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019I\u2019m gonna build an apartment complex and that investment\u2019s gonna give me that return because of the location of it\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuild to rent is very common, it\u2019s proven.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very similar model in Brooklyn, for example, in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Victoria could no longer rely solely on the public purse, Mr Tiley said Melbourne did need to update its sports and event infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, someone can just pop up this precinct like that (overseas or interstate), right next to the city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then all of a sudden you aren\u2019t the crown jewel like we are and so we can never take anything for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said a new hotel was needed in Melbourne\u2019s famous sporting precinct to cater to tens of thousands of fans who flock to major events such as the AO and Grand Prix but also weekly to AFL, NRL, A-League and NBL.<\/p>\n

Even if a hotel was built as part of an MCG redevelopment expected to take place from 2030, Mr Tiley said another should be constructed in Melbourne Park, such is demand from fans.<\/p>\n

And more permanent infrastructure such as restaurants, grandstands and shops should be built \u2013 to save costs to taxpayers setting up the AO each year but also draw more fans to the precinct year-round.<\/p>\n

It comes after the Herald Sun on Monday revealed calls from Mr Tiley and Live Nation to build a new, 20,000-seat multipurpose indoor arena <\/a>in Melbourne to meet rising demand.<\/p>\n

Mr Tiley declared: \u201cour aspiration for the precinct needs to be activity and the range of activity offered in it for anyone in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis needs to be a destination, not just because there\u2019s a footy game on or there\u2019s a basketball game or there\u2019s tennis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt needs to a destination 365 days of the year and the way you do that is you connect it more, you build, you make some investment in permanent infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

If Victoria failed to keep pace with stadium technology, Mr Tiley warned: \u201cEventually you\u2019ll lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that could mean the AO being lost to interstate raiders.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it goes would be somebody else\u2019s call,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut, where you lose first is in people\u2019s experience \u2026 if it\u2019s not an aspirational experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the AO was set up for success but constant evolution was required.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just an incredible amount of people wanting to come, we\u2019ve created aspirational value, it\u2019s now a bucket-list event,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve always got to invest in that momentum and the big part of that investment needs to be permanent infrastructure, not just us building temporary stuff.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if and when you stop doing that, that\u2019s why I say it cannot be funded from a government perspective, there needs to be other solutions.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s just not this precinct, but other ones across Australia. <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause if you don\u2019t, people are just going to go elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Victoria should lean into bold new funding streams such as building apartments and hotels in the heart 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