the MCG: best seats and which side to sit to avoid the afternoon sun

The MCG holds a crowd like nowhere else in the country, and that scale is exactly why picking a seat blind can leave you squinting into a setting sun, stuck in a nosebleed corner, or wishing you’d sorted out membership years ago. This guide gives you the judgement the official ticketing pages won’t: where the good seats actually are, which side of the ground cops the late-day sun, and whether a Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC) membership is worth chasing. View on Google Maps

A quick honest note up front: the MCG and MCC websites publish seating maps, entry rules and a “find your seat” view, but they don’t list ticket prices, membership fees or seat-by-seat sun exposure (mcg.org.au). So anywhere a hard number would need an official figure I don’t have, you’ll see “unverified — check the official source” rather than a guess.

Best seats

There’s no single “best” seat at a 100,000-seat stadium — it depends on what you’re watching and what you’re paying. Here’s how to think about it, ranked by what most footy and cricket fans actually want.

A few things worth knowing:

• Reserved vs General Admission. For many matches the MCG offers General Admission seating — unreserved areas where you sit where you like within a zone rather than in a numbered seat (mcg.org.au). Turn up early for a GA match if you want a wing seat rather than a corner.
• Every stand has accessible seating. The MCG states accessible seating is available in all stands (mcg.org.au), so wheelchair users and companions aren’t boxed into one end.
• Use the seat-view tool before you buy. The “Find My Seat” / MCG Stadium Map lets you preview the view from a section (mcg.org.au) — do this rather than trusting a section number alone.
• Exact prices, section names and tiers: unverified — check the official source.

If you want the same seat logic applied to Melbourne’s other big roofed venue, our Marvel Stadium best seats guide is a useful companion for concert-and-footy comparisons.

Which side to sit to avoid the afternoon sun

This is physics, not a venue secret, so here’s the plain answer. Melbourne is in the Southern Hemisphere, so the afternoon and early-evening sun sits low in the west (swinging to the north-west in the cooler months). That gives you a clear rule of thumb for any open-air day match:

• Seats on the eastern side of the ground face west — meaning you look into the setting sun. Expect glare in your eyes and sun on your face for a late-afternoon game. Good if you want warmth on a cold day, bad if you burn or hate squinting.
• Seats on the western side of the ground face east — the sun is behind you, on your back and neck rather than in your eyes. Less glare, easier to watch the play late in the day.
• As the afternoon wears on, the tall western grandstand throws its shadow eastward across the ground, so lower seats on the eastern side often fall into shade late in the day — while the western lower seats can stay lit.
• The most reliable shade anywhere is up high and back, in the upper tiers and back rows tucked under the roof overhang.

Practical call: if you burn easily or you’re bringing kids for a day match, book the western side, up high, under the roof, or an upper-tier back row on any side. If you want sun and don’t mind glare, the eastern lower tier will give it to you. For a night match, none of this matters — pick for view and atmosphere instead.

One venue specific we can anchor: the source names the Shane Warne Stand on the southern side of the ground (mcg.org.au). The exact orientation and roof coverage of the other stands, and which numbered sections stay shaded at a given time, are unverified — check the official source and use the seat-view tool.

The same afternoon-sun logic drives our Adelaide Oval seat guide if you’re comparing interstate grounds.

Members vs GA explained

Should you chase MCC membership or just buy a ticket each time? For most people, the honest answer is: buy the ticket. Here’s the trade-off.

What the sources confirm about the MCC:

• The MCC is the largest sporting club in Australia, with more than 155,000 members and about 181,000 people on the waiting list (mcc.org.au). That waiting list is the catch — membership isn’t something you buy for next weekend’s game.
• Membership tiers run Provisional, Restricted, Full and 50-Year members (mcc.org.au).
• Members get the Members’ Reserve, can bring visitors (visitor tickets into the Reserve, plus Balcony or Long Room passes depending on the match category), and hold reciprocal rights at other clubs and stadiums in Melbourne, interstate and overseas (mcc.org.au).
• MCC Plus gives members a 5% rebate on food and drinks inside the Reserve (mcc.org.au).

Bottom line: if you go to a handful of matches a year, a general ticket (reserved or GA) is the sensible pick and gets you into the same ground. MCC membership pays off for genuine regulars and for the Reserve/reciprocal perks — but you need to get on the waiting list years ahead. Exact fees and current wait times are unverified — check the official source.

Getting there (no parking)

The MCG is blunt about it: car parking is extremely limited on event days and public transport is strongly encouraged (mcg.org.au). Treat driving as a last resort.

Trains are the easy option:

(All distances from mcg.org.au.) Note: Cranbourne, Pakenham and Sunbury trains no longer stop at Richmond — check the Metro Tunnel routes if you’re on those lines. You can reach Flinders Street easily from Southern Cross.

Trams drop you close too: routes 75 and 48 reach Stop 11 (Jolimont Station/MCG), 300m from Gate 2 and 400m from Gate 3; route 70 stops at 7B for Gates 1–3 and 7C for Gates 4–7 (mcg.org.au). Bus 246 stops on Punt Road, about 600m from the ground through Yarra Park (mcg.org.au).

If you must drive: Yarra Park parking is on grassed paddocks, and you may be parked up to 300m from the concourse, crossing grass and garden beds to reach the paths (mcg.org.au). Drivers with an Australian Disability Parking (ADP) permit can pre-book Yarra Park parking via Ticketek, subject to capacity; the nearest accessible parking is the Melbourne Eastern Plaza car park, and a free G-Train Mobility Shuttle runs during events (mcg.org.au). Parking fees are unverified — check the official source. Driving in from the east or via the tolled freeways? Our CityLink vs EastLink toll guide covers paying without an account.

FAQ

Which side of the MCG has the least sun for a day game? The western side, up high under the roof overhang is your safest bet for shade — sun sits in the west in the afternoon, so western seats have it behind them and the western stand shades the ground eastward as the day goes on. Exact shaded sections are unverified; use the MCG’s seat-view tool.

Is it worth getting MCC membership just to see the footy? Usually not, if you only go a few times a year — a general or GA ticket gets you into the same ground. Membership suits regulars and comes with the Members’ Reserve and reciprocal rights, but there’s a very long waiting list (about 181,000 people), so it’s a long-term play (mcc.org.au).

What’s the closest train station to the MCG? Jolimont, also called MCG Station — about 350m and a five-minute walk through Yarra Park to Gate 2 (mcg.org.au).

Sources & last updated

• https://www.mcg.org.au/plan-a-visit/seating-and-ticket-information — last updated: unverified — accessed 25/07/2026
• https://www.mcg.org.au/plan-a-visit/get-to-the-mcg — last updated: unverified — accessed 25/07/2026
• https://www.mcc.org.au/membership — last updated: unverified — accessed 25/07/2026