CENTREPIECE, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and Pullman Melbourne on The Park have formed a strategic alliance to lure national and international business events to the precinct with a newly created ‘Meet, Celebrate and Stay’ experience.
The partnership follows a strong pipeline of 40 conference and business events secured by Visit Victoria for the State up until 2028, which expected to deliver $150 million to the local economy.
Spanning from the edge of the Melbourne CBD through Fitzroy Gardens and down to the Yarra River edge, the venues encompass Yarra Park, the MCG and Melbourne and Olympic Parks, forming an integral part of the city’s sports and entertainment precinct.
A highlight of the precinct is the ease of accessibility, both to the precinct with a variety of transport at the doorstep including tram, train, and boat, as well as within the precinct with each venue conveniently located next to one another, connected by footbridges and walking paths. Accessibility carts can also commute between the properties as required.
When CENTREPIECE’s state-of-the-art conferencing and gala facilities opened in 2022, the precinct’s business events and conference offering was strengthened through a precinct-wide solution for hosts to ‘Meet, Celebrate and Stay’ in three of the city’s best venues, all located within walking distance.
“The collaboration between CENTREPIECE, Pullman and the MCG has helped reposition the precinct as the ultimate Australian destination for multi-day conferences and events,” Melbourne and Olympic Parks head of corporate sales and partnerships, Jessica Manning said.
“Leveraging three iconic venues, a focus on Victorian food and beverage and a location set on the cusp of Melbourne’s CBD, it’s a compelling package that is already generating strong domestic and international market interest, ultimately spurring economic growth and tourism for the region.”
MCG Events director, sales and marketing Troy Stasinowsky said “MCG Events was created earlier this year to increase business events at the iconic MCG – with a strong focus on the international incentive and domestic association market. Being able to leverage great precinct partners and celebrate our heritage and culture has been pivotal to that journey.”
Pullman Melbourne on the Park director – commercial, Tony Byron said it was exciting to partner with the other two venues.
“We’re excited to partner with the MCG and CENTREPIECE to create the ultimate events and conferencing experience in the heart of Melbourne’s sport and entertainment precinct,” Byron said.
“Following the recent $40 million renovation of our rooms, suites and executive lounge, we are perfectly positioned to ensure a comfortable, luxurious and convenient experience for guests looking to ‘meet, celebrate and stay.”
In combining forces, the three venues are expecting strong business events interest for the year ahead from the domestic market, as well as international markets including the United Kingdom, United States, southeast Asia and New Zealand.
The collaboration has already seen key industry events utilise the three venues for a ‘Meet, Celebrate, Stay’ experience including Tourism Australia’s Destination Australia Conference in February, Association Forum Conference in April, and Visit Victoria’s Destination Victoria Conference held in June.
The Victorian State Government is also investing heavily in positioning Victoria as a leading business events destination, with $42.913 million in funding committed for the Business Events Program in the Victorian State Budget 2021/2022. This will enable Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) to continue to build Victoria’s reputation as the nation’s top business destination, and to attract a strong pipeline of business events to the state.
CENTREPIECE took out the Best New Tourism Business award at the Victorian Tourism Awards, which were held at the venue last week, welcoming more than 800 local tourism leaders. MCG Events won the Best Business Event Venue Award.
