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Sport in Victoria is of high cultural importance. The Victorian capital, Melbourne is often referred to as Australia's sporting capital.[1]
[edit] Sports
Australian rules football is the most popular sport in the state. Australian rules football originated in Melbourne in 1858. Ten of the sixteen Australian Football League clubs are based in Victoria, and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is usually seen as the home of the game. Since 1999, the city has been the biennual host of the International Rules series involving Gaelic football players from the Gaelic Athletic Association of Ireland. The city also hosted the 2002 and 2005 Australian Football International Cup.
Annually, Melbourne hosts the Australian Open tennis tournament, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments; the famous Melbourne Cup horse race; the 'Boxing Day' cricket test match held each year from 26–30 December at the Melbourne Cricket Ground; and the Australian Formula One Grand Prix. The Wallabies, Australia's national rugby union team, usually also play at least one Test annually at Melbourne's Telstra Dome.
Phillip Island hosts MotoGP races, and Stawell is the home of Australia's most prestigious foot race, the Stawell Gift.
[edit] Special Events
The MCG was the site of the first ever cricket test match between Australia and England in 1877, and has been the main stadium for the 1956 Summer Olympics and 2006 Commonwealth Games.
As well as Olympic and Commonwealth Games, Melbourne has hosted numerous sporting events which rotate host cities. Melbourne co-hosted the 2003 Rugby World Cup, including many pool matches as well as a quarter final – all of which were played at the Telstra Dome; hosted the 2002 World Masters Games; broke new ground as the first city outside the United States to host the World Police and Fire Games in 1995, and the Presidents Cup golf tournament in 1999; and was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to host the World Cup Polo Championship in 2001. The city has hosted FIFA World Cup qualifiers in both 1997 and 2001.
[edit] Major Sports Venues
[edit] Melbourne
| Venue |
Capacity |
Main Sports |
| Flemington Racecourse |
130,000 |
horse racing |
| Albert Park |
100,000+ |
Formula One |
| Melbourne Cricket Ground |
100,000 |
Australian rules football, cricket |
| Telstra Dome |
56,347 |
Australian rules football, rugby league, cricket, Association football (soccer) |
| Caulfield Racecourse |
50,000 |
horse racing |
| Princes Park |
35,000 |
Australian rules football |
| Victoria Park |
27,000 |
Australian rules football |
| Moorabbin Oval |
27,000 |
Australian rules football |
| Western Oval |
25,000 |
Australian rules football |
| Olympic Park |
18,500 |
rugby league |
| Rod Laver Arena |
14,820 |
tennis |
| Bob Jane Stadium (within Albert Park area) |
14,000 |
Association football (soccer) |
| Vodafone Arena |
10,500 |
tennis, cycling, gymnastics, and basketball |
| Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre |
4,000 (9,000 for the Commonwealth Games) |
swimming |
| Sandown Raceway |
|
motorsport, horse racing |
| Calder Park Raceway |
|
motorsport |
[edit] Outside Melbourne
[edit] Current professional franchises in national competitions
[edit] Melbourne
[edit] Outside Melbourne
[edit] See also
[edit] References
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