Australian Sports Museum

Client:

Melbourne Cricket Club

Project Value:

$17 million

The Australian Sports Museum (formerly the National Sports Museum) is housed inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Redeveloped with a $5 million investment from the Victorian Government with an overall project budget of $17.5 million, the completely refurbished Museum was first masterplanned in 2010 almost immediately after the original Museum opened. The ASM includes an Australian football section including the Australian Football Hall of Fame, Cricket Exhibition, Sport Australia Hall of Fame, Olympics and a large interactive gallery where you can test your skills.

The Museum is home to Australia’s largest collection of sporting memorabilia, including Don Bradman’s baggy green cap, Cathy Freeman’s running suit from the Sydney 2000 Olympics and the 1956 Melbourne Olympic Games cauldron.

WT provided full Cost Planning and Post Contract Services to the ASM for the original Museum fitout and subsequent refurbishment including various masterplanning exercises over the years since the original opening.

Located in the basement of the Northern Stand, the space wasn’t originally intended to be used as a conservation quality exhibition space. Working around existing services for the stands above, low head heights in certain areas and limited pedestrian access points into the space presented challenges for the project design team.