PILA's Stadium AFL Goal Posts Installed Quickly and Easily in MCG's 4 Day Field Conversion

The grandstand's seats were still warm on Sunday 29 March when the MCG arenas team started the colossal task of converting from cricket to footy in time for the season opener between Carlton and Richmond on Thursday 2 April. The ICC Cricket World Cup offered a pleasant distraction over the summer, but it also delayed the start of the premiership season and Australia was itching for it to get underway.

Herculean Task

Australia's sporting shrine is in high demand this year, hosting World Cup Cricket, State of Origin Rugby League and International Soccer Friendlies, as well as AFL. Transitioning between each will pose challenges for the MCG, and this particular transformation was more complicated than any before it. With more than 40 separate pieces of work to complete inside and out of the stadium, work commenced less than an hour after Australia thrashed New Zealand in the World Cup final. Boards were laid down to protect the recently resurfaced turf while machinery drove out to take the portable cricket pitches to their winter home in Yarra Park. Signage had to be swapped, changerooms refitted and of course, goal posts installed.

PILA's Participation

None of this happened by chance - it took months of planning, strategising and preparing to accomplish this feat. For our own small part PILA was commissioned mid-2014 to manufacture a set of 15m aluminium Stadium AFL Goal Posts with bases customised to be easily installed in the MCG's existing footings. Managing Director, Reece Wooldridge, spent considerable time with MCG Head Groundsman, Tony Gordon, ensuring the goal posts would be perfect.

Easy Installation

As demonstrated in the MCG's video, PILA's goal posts were manually installed by just a few men. No need for heavy or expensive equipment, and done quickly enough to fit into their tight timeframe. It's the goal posts that make the MCG iconically AFL, and the MCG has chosen the safest and highest quality goal posts, made here in Australia by PILA sport.

It took more than 200 full time and casual staff, but thanks to their hard work and with the weather on their side, the MCG was successfully transformed into the AFL Mecca for another stunning season of footy. Watching as photos and video streamed through of the installation was a glorious time for all of us at PILA - not just another feather in our cap, but THE feather in our cap.

Why are AFL Goal Posts White?

Most people would be familiar with the Americans' iconic yellow NFL goal posts, however almost all goal posts across the football codes in Australia are white. It begs the question - why are AFL goal posts white?

Unlike soccer where FIFA stipulates that goal posts must be white, the AFL has no such written specification. In South Australia, behind posts used to be (and in some places still are) red, however this tradition is disappearing as the AFL insists every scoring post be white.

For a brief period during an MCG grandstand construction in 2003, the top 2m of the goal posts were coloured "VIP red" to improve visibility against the cranes and light towers. But blink and you missed this anomaly and now the home of the AFL Grand Final boasts PILA's gloss white UV stabilised powdercoated goal posts.

Ultimately, white offers the best contrast against most backgrounds making the goal posts easier to see. For elements that need to blend into the background like barrier netting or sightscreens, black is used. This makes sense as black absorbs light while white reflects it. When shadowing occurs due to overcast weather or artificial lighting, dark objects are camouflaged.

White has traditionally been a readily accessible colour, is colour-matched easily, it does not fade, and it reflects light making it highly visible and hence the perfect colour for AFL goal posts.

PILA's Pro-Series Goal Posts on the World Stage as MCG Hosts Soccer Friendlies

While the MCG is better known for cricket and as the venue for the AFL Grand Final, it has more than a century of history hosting soccer as well. From the first match played in 1912 there have been a variety of games ranging from friendlies to World Cup qualifiers and Olympic competition. Some of the best teams in the world have played at the MCG including Manchester United, Brazil, Argentina and Liverpool. And this year the Victorian Government has lured reigning European champions and FIFA Club of the 20^th Century, Real Madrid, along with the world’s current best player, Cristiano Ronaldo.

International Champions Cup

Previously confined to North America, the International Champions Cup has expanded to include Australia for 2015, bringing three of the biggest names in European club football – Real Madrid, Manchester City and AS Roma. They will play an exclusive three-match round robin tournament at the MCG from 18 – 25 July, using PILA’s new international broadcasting standard Pro-Series football goal posts.

Pro-Series

PILA’s Pro-Series football goal posts are specifically designed for elite level televised events. In order to comply with FIFA’s regulations, football goal posts in televised games are required to have black free hanging net support posts (as opposed to the more common white ones). PILA's Pro-Series goal posts meet Australian and international standards and have already proven popular with Football NSW choosing them for their Valentine Sports Park fields.

With their new turf and new goals, the MCG is set to welcome these elite teams and put on a spectacular show. Learn more about PILA’s new Pro-Series goal posts here.