NFL Debut at MCG Draws 100,000 Amid Sightline Complaints

The NFL's first regular-season game in Australia drew a sold-out crowd of roughly 100,000 to the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Friday, but the historic occasion was accompanied by widespread complaints about sightlines at the oval-shaped venue. The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers met at the MCG in a matchup expected to be the second-biggest international crowd in NFL history and among the league's highest regular-season attendances. The unusual 10:35 a.m. local start time was designed so the game could be broadcast in prime time in the United States. Despite the scale of the event, many fans found that seats marketed as front-row positions were far from the action. Videos shared widely on social media showed a wide stretch of grass between the stadium railing and the sideline, with some spectators reporting the field was roughly 50 yards away. Joe Pompliano, who posted from Melbourne, estimated the first row was about 165 feet from the sideline, compared with approximately 45 to 50 feet at a typical NFL stadium, and that the football field occupied only about a quarter of the MCG's grass surface. The problem stems from the venue's design.