Craig Tiley <\/a>said Melbourne\u2019s iconic sports and entertainment precinct needed be brought to life year-round rather than only when events were happening.<\/p>\nDrawcard dining experiences such as Australia\u2019s first permanent Shake Shack restaurant also needed to open on the prime patch of real estate to drive an economic and cultural \u201crevival\u201d of our city.<\/p>\n
Mr Tiley told the nation\u2019s best cluster of stadiums were crying out to be better activated 365 days a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you said to me \u2018what would you do tomorrow?\u2019 well the first thing I\u2019d probably do is put an open-air cinema down there,\u201d Mr Tiley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d have exercise stations over there. I\u2019d put a temporary bike path and jogging track in.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe run around the Tan, why don\u2019t we run through the precinct?\u201d<\/p>\n
To help bring Melbourne back to life, Mr Tiley \u2013 the architect behind the AO\u2019s expansion to a record breaking three week cash cow \u2013 said the buzz should remain long after men\u2019s and women\u2019s finals are played.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is the one thing that I\u2019ve always said on the precinct: Could we replicate what happens here in January 365 days a year?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe we can.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s many more things that we could have on the precincts.\u201d<\/p>\n
While temporary infrastructure was built and taken down each year for bars, restaurants, music, fashion and more for the AO, constructing it permanently could save costs and add attractions.<\/p>\n
Adding destination attractions such as a Shake Shack burger joint \u2013 which sparked huge queues and interest in a trial run at Melbourne Park in January \u2013 would draw people to a precinct that is a ghost town when events aren\u2019t on.<\/p>\n
\u201cEntertainment is what the precinct was built for but I think with really thoughtful content builds, there can be more activity in precinct,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the reasons why you want that year-round is because you want the economic impact to the city and to the state.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut the second thing is you want to have a revival \u2013 of activity in the city every night, during the day. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd third, you want to maximise the use of the precinct so you can justify further permanent infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
While cafes exist at Melbourne Park, the MCG and AAMI Park and St Andrews Beach Brewery has traded near Rod Laver Arena since 2024, permanent restaurants and shops rarely operate outside event days.<\/p>\n
Mr Tiley said that needed to change, with something as simple as a sports superstore giving fans a reason to visit the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d immediately build some retail outlets, somewhere you can buy retail for all our sporting teams,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you love Collingwood, you can buy a Collingwood hat.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat doesn\u2019t solve things for the future. That just solves it for today. <\/p>\n
\u201cSolving for the future is going to require coming together with ideas and then more infrastructure build.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Australian Sports Museum is already based at the MCG, Mr Tiley said there was scope for a state-of-the-art attraction in the precinct featuring holograms or the latest technology to tell our proud sporting story.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would build virtual celebrations of great sport in Australia,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Though the precinct is pumping during the AO, Mr Tiley said Melbourne Park needed a new injection of life at other times.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I\u2019m from anywhere in the world and I come to this precinct you say \u2018this is unbelievable\u2019,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe US and others have a sporting precinct and around the precinct they build a little city connected into the stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey build hotels, conference centres, kind of like what\u2019s happening down at Marvel Stadium \u2013 that\u2019s going to happen. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo I think, when we look at the momentum, and this is the word I use all the time, you have to have momentum in content, and you have to have momentum in infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said people flocked to the precinct in January because \u201cevery single hour of the day there\u2019s activity. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd it\u2019s not just tennis. It could be music, it can be beautification, gaming, it could be exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A running path similar to \u201cthe Tan\u2019 should be built through the heart of Melbourne\u2019s sports precinct 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