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Explore. Build. Grow
Explore. Build. Grow

Our flexible three-stage framework to craft digital experiences.

Learn more
Expertise
Outcomes
View our portfolio
View our portfolio

Explore our range of digital solutions.

Learn more
Industries
Our Approach to AI
Our Approach to AI

Keeping ourselves at the forefront of emerging technology is part of our DNA. But we recognise that ‘technology for technology’s sake’ is not the end goal – there is a balance to be struck.

Learn more
DXP
Headless
Cloud Platforms
Marketing Optimisation
Contact Us
Image of the MCG

MCG and Melbourne Cricket Club

With a heritage spanning more than 185 years, the MCC is one of Australia’s most recognised sporting institutions, responsible for managing the Melbourne Cricket Ground and the Australian Sports Museum. The organisation needed to modernise its digital presence to reflect its world-class reputation and provide a seamless online experience for both members and the general public. Luminary was engaged to design, build and deliver two new websites, powered by Optimizely, ensuring stability during major event traffic peaks, improved accessibility, and a modern, mobile-first experience.

Platform:

Optimizely

Who We Helped:

Tourism and hospitality
www.mcg.org.au

Quick stats

annual users across the MCC and MCG sites

of users access the sites on mobile devices

users online for Taylor Swift concert announcement

The challenge

The MCC operates one of the largest and most complex sporting venues in the world, with a digital audience exceeding four million annual visitors across its three digital properties (incorporating the MCC, MCG and Australian Sports Museum websites). Its existing sites – developed in 2015 – had reached end-of-life, built on outdated platforms that had become restrictive and difficult to maintain.

The legacy system offered limited flexibility for content management and lacked interactive functionality. Performance was also a significant issue. During major events, the sites required manual scaling of resources to maintain uptime.

Beyond technical limitations, the digital estate had become fragmented, with three separate brands operating on two different Content Management Systems. This made content management inefficient and necessitated duplication.

The brief was to consolidate the three websites into two, one for MCC and one for MCG, with the Australian Sports Museum (ASM) being brought under the MCG banner. The objectives of the new websites were to modernise the customer experience, streamline authoring processes, and create a platform that would uphold the MCC and MCG’s reputation for excellence – both on and off the field.


MCC and MCG websites on mobile

What we did

Throughout the project, Luminary worked extremely closely with the MCC team, with on-site collaborations on an almost-weekly basis. The result was a completely new look and feel for both the MCC and MCG sites.

Taylor Swift on MCG site

Key features

Highlights include a new member portal for MCC members, an overhaul of the stadium mapping functionality, revamped events sections, a reimagined IA, and a new technical architecture built to withstand traffic surges associated with major events. 

A new era for MCC members 

The MCC serves over 150,000 members, with more than 180,000 on a 20-year waiting list, making it one of the largest waiting lists for a sporting club anywhere in the world. While tradition plays an important role in its operation, booking flows for dining, events and membership renewal were archaic, often requiring phone calls or the completion of lengthy and complex forms. 

A new mobile-first portal called My MCC was built to provide members with a streamlined experience. The portal lays the foundation for extensive personalisation, allowing for curated content experiences based on member type, and streamlines processes such as support forms by pre-filling member information.

MCC portal

Stadium mapping

One of the key focal points of the project was the redevelopment of the MCG’s stadium mapping experience. Previously, users could only see a flat map of the multi-level stadium (based on Google Maps), which made it difficult to visualise where they were in relation to other parts of the stadium. Further, a search for a certain type of amenity would surface all such amenities throughout the stadium. 

The new stadium map experience offers a clearer understanding of the stadium layout and how to navigate it, with a visual map that changes with the level selection. With the new system, users can pin their seating section, view amenities relevant to their current level and section of the stadium, and easily toggle between stadium tiers. The design mirrors the familiar look and feel of Google Maps while overlaying custom illustrations of each level of the stadium’s layout. 


stadium_mapping_f3c88b2

Showcasing events

The new events calendar architecture simplifies how fixtures and experiences are displayed. Previously, event data had to be manually entered for each of the three brands. Now, a centralised component model allows event data to be shared (where relevant) and dynamically tailored for each site, supporting easier cross-promotion of events.

The new design also makes event information easier to find, doing away with heavy reliance on text and replacing it with a carousel sliders for easy scrolling through events on both desktop and mobile, filters to categorise events, and bespoke, event-specific components for ticket information, access gates, opening times, and parking details.


events

A more intuitive experience

The site’s information architecture underwent a complete overhaul to simplify navigation and improve discoverability. User journeys were restructured to align with audience intent – from fans attending an event to members managing their accounts or tourists planning a museum visit. Extensive UX testing and wireframing also informed a new global navigation system. 

Accessibility was a central focus of design and development, with colour contrast, keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility key considerations throughout. The unified component library means accessibility improvements made for one site automatically flow across all three, ensuring consistency and ongoing compliance.

ia

Technical architecture 

To bring cohesion across the digital properties, Luminary developed the two new websites within a single Optimizely instance. This decision was driven by the need for stability, scalability and shared componentry, while still allowing for individual brand expression across the MCC, MCG and ASM. The new architecture enables content teams to publish and manage material across all three brands from one environment. Shared components and a unified design system establish visual and functional consistency, while allowing flexibility for each brand’s distinct audience.

The transition to Optimizely’s SaaS managed cloud also ensures greater reliability and performance. Its cloud-native infrastructure offers automatic scaling and high availability, reducing operational overheads and eliminating the downtime issues that plagued the previous setup.


footballer_kicking_ball

Built to deal with traffic spikes

With major events attracting traffic spikes in the tens of thousands, scalability was critical. To modernise the platform architecture for stability under heavy traffic, Luminary implemented a multi-layered strategy focused on offloading requests, isolating services, and leveraging scalable, cloud-native solutions. 

The approach included leveraging Optimizely DXP's native integration with Cloudflare. This Content Delivery Network (CDN) caches content at the ‘edge’ (servers close to the user), drastically reducing the number of requests that hit the core platform. This allows it to absorb large, sudden traffic spikes to ensure the origin servers are not overwhelmed.


taylor_swift_and_afl_finals
MCG gif

A digital home worthy of a national icon

The redevelopment of the MCC’s digital ecosystem marks a major step forward in its digital transformation. By unifying three distinct brands under a single Optimizely instance, the MCC now has a robust, scalable and future-proof foundation to support its audience well into the next decade.

The platform delivers faster load times, improved reliability during major events, and a vastly enhanced user experience – particularly on mobile. The new stadium mapping, member portal and events functionality bring the MCG experience to life online, while improved authoring tools empower content teams to manage information more efficiently than ever before.


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