Ford Australian Open (389,598)
Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix (410,577)
AFL Grand Final (90,000)
Spring Racing Carnival & Melbourne Cup (371,000)
Air Show Downunder (162,000)
Motorcycle Grand Prix (93,000)

ii. SPORTS INDUSTRY

Football

• 121,696 Fans watched the 1970 Grand Final
• In 1858 the first match of football was played between Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar

Cricket

• More than 100,000 cricket players are registered in Victoria
• The MCG was opened in 1853

• Melbourne is home to the only NASCAR speedway outside of the USA - The Calder Park Thunderdome

Tennis

• An estimated 5 million Australian's play tennis
• Victoria has 95,000 registered tennis players
• The Australian Open is one of four Grand Slam tennis events along side London, Paris and New York.

Golf

• Melbourne has some of the world's best sand-belt golf courses. Two, being considered in the top ten in the world.
• Metropolitan Melbourne has 130 courses compared with 82 in Sydney and 17 in Brisbane
• Victoria has 366 golf courses with over 130,000 golfers

Olympics & Athletics

• Seventy percent of Australia's weightlifters are from Victoria (1996 Atlanta)
• Half of the 1996 Australian Olympic basketball team came from Australia
• Melbourne is the heart of cycling in Australia - with 40% of the National squad from Victoria
• Victoria is the nursery of Australian Athletics and the training base for over 40% of the 1996 Olympic team
• Melbourne will be the Host for the 2006 Commonwealth Games
• The majority of people who are interested in sport are also the same people who are interested in the Olympic games. Lets' captivate their interest

Bowls

• Victoria is the Lawn Bowls capital with more than 85,000 registered players

iii. SPORTS FACILITIES

• The Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre is the largest integrated sports and leisure facility in Australia
• Melbourne is the only city to have a purpose-built baseball stadium (Altona)

MCG

• Opened in 1853