Warnie's family make special request for stadium name change
The family of Shane Warne have reportedly requested that The Great Southern Stand at the Melbourne Cricket Ground be renamed the Shane Warne stand.
This request comes just days after it was earlier announced the seating block would be called the S.K. Warne Stand in honour of the late sporting legend.
According to 7News sports reporter Tom Browne, Warnie's family told the MCG that they believe Shane would be in favour of their preferred memorial option.
“My understanding is that it will be called the Shane Warne stand,” Browne said.
“I spoke to a senior government source who emphasised the final decision will be down to the Warne family.”
Shane Warne's family is asking the MCC to rethink the plan to rename the Great Southern Stand in his honour. @TomBrowne7 with exclusive details. https://t.co/5zYfOfohG3 #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/hRPJbyDLa1
— 7NEWS Melbourne (@7NewsMelbourne) March 15, 2022
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews announced the initial name change after the news of Warnie’s shocking death of a suspected heart attack while on holiday in Thailand.
Mr Andrews said at the time it would be “a permanent tribute to an amazing Victorian”.
He said, “I’ve just informed the Warne family that the Government will rename the Great Southern Stand at the MCG - the place he took his hat trick and 700th wicket - to honour Shane and his contribution to the game.”
Shane Warne's memorial service is due to be held at the MCG on March 30th, with 50,000 public ballot tickets up for grabs.
Information on how to go in the running for a coveted ticket will be shared by the MCG closer to the date of the event.
Memorial services will also be held at the SCG and other sporting stadiums around Australia, which will be live-streamed to sports fans around the globe.
The Sydney event will be unticketed with free entry, and will include live tributes to the cricketer and footage of his achievements at SCG.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the final details of the SCG event were still being finalised but the event would be run alongside the Melbourne Cricket Ground service.
"We are working through that at the moment with (Venues NSW chairman) Tony Shepherd and the team at Cricket Australia," he said.
"We want to run those events alongside each other. Obviously, we will live stream the memorial service in the MCG – that's incredibly important."
Mr Perrottet said he believed it was important NSW residents had the opportunity to say goodbye to the sporting legend.
"Shane Warne is the greatest cricketer I've seen of that generation and well loved by the people of NSW even though he was a Victorian," he said.
"I think it's important that we provide the opportunity for people to come to the cricket ground and pay their respects to Shane and to his family and his friends."
Image credits: Instagram