Kardinia Park (stadium)
Template:Short description Template:Redirect Template:Redirect Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox venue
Kardinia Park (also known as GMHBA Stadium due to naming rights) is a sporting and entertainment venue located within Kardinia Park, South Geelong, in the Australian state of Victoria. The stadium, owned and operated by the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, is the home ground of the Geelong Football Club, an Australian rules football club competing in the Australian Football League (AFL). Kardinia Park can accommodate 40,000 spectators, making it the largest-capacity Australian stadium in a regional city, and the third largest-capacity stadium in Victoria behind the Melbourne Cricket Ground (100,024) and Docklands Stadium (56,347).<ref name=Austadiums11>Template:Cite web</ref>
Australian rules football
Early years
Football has been played on Kardinia Park since the 19th century,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and prior to the 1940s, Kardinia Park was the secondary football venue in the city of Geelong; Corio Oval was the primary venue, and the Geelong Football Club played its Victorian Football League games at that venue until 1940. Kardinia Park served as the home ground for the Geelong (A.) Football Club in the Victorian Football Association from 1922<ref name="3DecemberAustralasian">Template:Cite news</ref> until 1925, before that club moved to the Western Oval in Geelong West;<ref name="admit">Template:Cite news</ref> local and district football was played regularly on the ground.
The Geelong Football Club began playing its home games at Kardinia Park in 1941 after Corio Oval was commandeered by the military during World War II, and it became its permanent home venue thereafter.
Recent history
On 23 May 2002, Kardinia Park hosted a visit from the Dalai Lama, who again visited the stadium in June 2007.Template:Cn
Kardinia Park is regarded as a proverbial graveyard for teams playing against Geelong, which has an especially good record at the ground. Geelong did not lose a single match played at the venue between 26 August 2007 and 27 August 2011. Geelong's Jimmy Bartel credited the home-field advantage to the fact that Geelong is one of the few clubs which still practises on the same field that it plays on.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 22 June 2011, it was announced the stadium would have a new name in 2012. After 10 years as naming rights sponsor of Skilled Stadium, Skilled Group decided to relinquish these rights as of 31 October 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Previous names of the stadium as results of sponsorship deals have been Skilled Stadium, Shell Stadium and Baytec Stadium; however it was only called Baytec Stadium for less than two months, and only one pre-season match was played there under the name. The stadium is nicknamed "The Cattery" by the club's supporters.
On 30 July 2011, Geelong recorded its largest ever victory, and the second-largest victory in V/AFL history when it defeated Template:AFL Mel by 186 points. The Cats' score of 37.11 (233) was their second-highest score in club history, and the highest ever score recorded at Kardinia Park.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Floodlights were installed prior to the 2013 AFL season, and the venue staged its first night match during the season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 7 September 2013, Kardinia Park hosted its first ever AFL Final, a qualifying final against Fremantle Dockers, with Geelong losing the game 87–72.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In its current layout Kardinia Park consists of the following seating areas: the Reg Hickey Stand, Players Stand, Premiership Stand, Brownlow Stand and the new Joel Selwood Stand, with the Gary Ablett Terrace standing room section located within the Selwood stand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 4 July 2021, the venue hosted its 689th V/AFL match, but its first ever AFL home and away fixture not involving Geelong, as Sydney Swans hosted West Coast Eagles due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New South Wales causing a lockdown in the Greater Sydney area. Sydney won 118–26 with the attendance posted of 9,520.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Cricket
In 2016, it was announced that international cricket would be played at the ground for the first time. The ground hosted second T20 International between Australia and Sri Lanka on 19 February.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The ground witnessed memorable match between two nations, where Sri Lanka won the match by 2 wickets at the end. Sri Lanka chased 173 runs at the last ball of the match.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 3 January 2018 the ground hosted a Women's Big Bash League and Big Bash League double header with the Melbourne Renegades taking on the Sydney Sixers with the Renegades winning in both matches.
The ground was to be used in the 2020 ICC T20 World Cup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament was postponed to October 2021 with United Arab Emirates and Oman hosting instead of Australia who hosted the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup instead.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Soccer
In August 2019, it was announced that new A-League club Western United would play the majority of home matches at Kardinia Park for the upcoming 2019/20 season and for a further two or three years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The club had planned to play most home matches at Kardinia Park until moving into their proposed new stadium in Tarneit in Melbourne's West.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Their first game at the ground was a 1–1 draw with Perth Glory in front of 6,088 on 19 October 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Western United last played matches at Kardinia Park in December 2021.
Kardinia Park was included in the Australia 2022 FIFA World Cup bid, with a proposed upgrade to 44,000 seats analogous to the later proposed stage 5 of redevelopment, with the new multi tiered stand stretching all the way from the southern end, around the western side and the northern Ablett stand, however the bid lost out to Qatar.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
After a seven-year gap between Melbourne Victory's first match at the stadium, a 2007 A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup match against Newcastle Jets and their second, a 2014 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off against Thai side Muangthong United, the ground hosted its first-ever A-League premiership match in 2015 when Victory played Perth Glory FC in round 14 of the 2014–15 A-League season with an attendance of 21,289 as the first match of a three-year deal to bring one Victory fixture per season to Geelong.<ref>Opening month of A-League season 10 features a series of blockbuster matches, Fox Sports Australia, 12 June 2014</ref> The second match drew 14,268 fans to an exciting six-goal, come-from-behind draw by the Victory against Central Coast Mariners in January 2016,<ref>Central Coast, Victory play out A-League classic Template:Webarchive Football Federation Australia official website, John Greco, 8 January 2016</ref> while the third was held on 2 January 2017 with Newcastle Jets as the visiting team, when a crowd of 14,081 witnessed Besart Berisha overtake Archie Thompson's all-time A-League scoring record in a 4–2 win for the Victory.<ref>Record for Berisha as Victory trounce Jets Template:Webarchive Melbourne Victory Official Website, John Greco, 2 January 2017</ref> Victory and the stadium trust agreed to extend the deal by two more years in 2017.<ref>Geelong’s Kardinia Park to host more Melbourne Victory A-League games, Geelong Advertiser, Shane Fowles, 20 June 2017</ref>
European Champions League finalists Atlético Madrid played Melbourne Victory in a friendly match at the stadium on 31 July 2016. Melbourne Victory won 1–0.<ref>Victory to play Atlético de Madrid in Geelong Template:Webarchive Melbourne Victory official website, 16 June 2016</ref>
The stadium has also played host to one full men's international match on 30 December 2014, a pre-tournament friendly between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia prior to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup hosted by Australia, which ended as a 4–1 win for Bahrain.<ref>Bahrain put four past Saudi Arabia in Geelong 31 December 2014, Roy Ward, Sydney Morning Herald</ref>
The Australian women's national team, the Matildas, won a friendly match against China 5–1 on 26 November 2017, attracting a crowd of 6,338 even with a thunderstorm which forced a delay to the match of half an hour.<ref>Sam Kerr scores two as Matildas cap season with 5–1 win over China, The Australian, 27 November 2017</ref>
Other uses
During the late 1920s and early 1930s when Motorcycle speedway was becoming popular throughout Australia, Kardinia Park was home to a dirt track speedway known as the Geelong Velodrome. The Velodrome hosted the inaugural Victorian Solo Speedway Championship in 1926/27 and followed up with the second championship held in 1927/28. Both championships were won by Billy Pilgrim.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
On 4 March 2022, American band Foo Fighters performed at the venue marking the first stadium show in the country after the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Redevelopments
Over a twenty-year period between 2003 and 2023, Kardinia Park has undergone an extensive redevelopment of its grandstands, and spectator and interior facilities. A Template:A$28 million redevelopment of the stadium was announced in 2003, with A$13.5 million in funding from the Victorian Government, A$4.5 million from the Geelong Football Club, and A$2 million from the AFL. The redeveloped ground was opened on 1 May 2005 during the first home game of the 2005 season. It included a new western entry and membership area, as well as the five-level wing-side grandstand with a capacity of 6,098 spectators on the eastern side of the stadium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A favourite for the honour of the naming of the new stand was Bob Davis, coach of the Cats' premiership side in 1963. On 15 June 2005, City of Greater Geelong councillors granted the club its wish to change the name of the new eastern stand to the Reg Hickey Stand, while the southern stand became the Doug Wade Stand. The northern terrace became known as the Gary Ablett Terrace while the western gate was renamed the Bob Davis Gate.
In September 2007, Kardinia Park received a further total of A$25 million towards the second stage of redevelopment in rebuilding the Ross Drew Stand on the south western side of the ground. Funding for the project included A$14 million from the federal government and A$6 million from the Victorian Government.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The new stand, known as the 2009 Premiership Stand, features seating for 4,714 supporters, including up to 800 corporate guests on match days. The stand opened on 10 April 2010 and was officially unveiled in round four of the 2010 AFL season, coinciding with the unveiling of the 2009 premiership flag.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> A$50,000 was also spent on a new 600-seat temporary stand between the Reg Hickey and Doug Wade stands.Template:Citation needed
In May 2009 it was revealed that the stadium owners the City of Greater Geelong had approached a number of Melbourne-based AFL clubs discussing the financial advantages of playing home games at the ground. Though such a move never eventuated, the ground was capable of earning other clubs A$30 a patron, compared to the A$7 a patron earned at Docklands Stadium in Melbourne. The Geelong Football Club had first floated Skilled Stadium as a potential home game venue for Melbourne clubs in 2006.Template:Citation needed
In April 2011, plans for the third stage of redevelopment were revealed. Under the plans, the Doug Wade stand at the southern end of the stadium was pulled down at the end of the 2011 AFL season. The works included the demolition of the old Doug Wade stand and the construction of a new 9,340 seat Southern Grandstand. The new Grandstand also included improved spectator amenities, a purpose-built training facility for community sports and education groups, a "past players" function room, and four broadcast-compliant floodlit towers, allowing the stadium to host night events.<ref name=Stage3Info>Template:Cite web</ref> The redevelopment saw the stadium increase in capacity to 33,500. The redevelopment cost $33 million, of which $11.7 million was spent on the new lighting.<ref name="Stage3Info"/>
Significant miscalculations were made with respect to the budget required for the stage 3 redevelopment and consequently several aspects of the original plans were scaled back by the Geelong Football Club in November 2011, including the removal of the proposed supporters lounge and decreasing capacity by 1,000 seats.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The new grandstand was named the Players Stand in August 2012 and from 1 November 2011, the venue became known as Simonds Stadium, after homebuilding group Simonds Homes signed a five-year naming rights deal.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The new Players Stand was officially opened on 1 June 2013, prior to Geelong's first proper home match of the 2013 AFL season against Gold Coast. The match was the first to be played under the new floodlights and was played in front of 30,082 fans, the largest crowd at the stadium at that time since the first stage of the re-development.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The fourth stage of redevelopment saw the Brownlow and the Jennings Stands demolished at the end of the 2015 AFL season to make way for a new state of the art grandstand. The new stand, eventually named the Charles Brownlow Stand (in honour of the club's Brownlow Medal winners and Charles Brownlow) was opened on 18 May 2017. The new stand features seating for 6,500 people, improved media facilities, a new 1000-seat function centre, merchandise store, café, an enhanced football department and the "Sunrise Centre", a community facility providing rehabilitation for people returning to the workforce following serious injury.<ref name=BrownlowStandOpened>Template:Cite web</ref>
The total cost of the fourth stage of redevelopment was $91 million, of which $75m came from the Victorian Government, $6m from the City of Greater Geelong, $6 million from the Geelong Football Club and $4 million from the AFL.<ref name="BrownlowStandOpened"/> The total capacity of Kardinia Park after the stage 4 redevelopment was nominally 36,000;<ref name=Austadiums2017>Template:Cite web</ref> however, given the way the stadium is configured for AFL matches, its capacity was said to be unable to exceed 34,000.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
During 2016 laws were passed by the Victorian Parliament for management of the stadium to be taken over by the government-appointed Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, in line with practices at other major venues in the state.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Prior to this the venue had been owned and operated by the City of Greater Geelong, which now maintains and manages the broader Kardinia Park precinct, though not the actual stadium itself.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In April 2017, the Victorian Government announced an investment of $3.9 million in the upcoming state budget to fund the planning and design stage for Stage 5 of the redevelopment. This stage of redevelopment was the final part of the more than decade-long process to increase the capacity of Kardinia Park to 40,000 and resulted in the Ford Stand and Gary Ablett Terrace being removed to make way for a new grandstand to ring around the rest of the remaining open-air section of the stadium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 2020 the government revealed it had assigned $142 million to complete this final stage of redevelopment. The new grandstand holds 14,000 spectators and includes function rooms, administrative offices and broadcast studios, cricket warm-up facilities and standing room facilities for spectators.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=RadioIntOctober21>Template:Cite web</ref> Construction on the project commenced in September 2021 following the conclusion of the AFL season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Due to the commencement of construction associated with Stage 5 of the stadium's redevelopment, the stadium's capacity was temporarily reduced to as low as 23,000 at times.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Despite being originally planned to be completed by mid-2023, the fifth stage of redevelopment was delayed to early 2024 due to defects with overseas-sourced steel.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 2023, as the stand was nearing completion, the stadium trust announced that the stand would be named the Joel Selwood Stand, in recognition of former Geelong Football Club premiership captain Joel Selwood, who played 355 games with the club.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The stand was completed shortly thereafter and was first used by spectators at a pre-season match between Geelong and Template:AFL Ess on 1 March 2024.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It was formally unveiled by the government and other parties at a press conference on 12 March 2024, a few days prior to the round 1 match between Geelong and Template:AFL StK.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The five stage redevelopment of the stadium, completed over two decades at a cost of $340 million, has given rise to the ground being given the nickname Pork Barrel Park,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> a reference to the practice of politicians spending money on local projects to win favour with voters. Although the stadium is in the safe federal Labor seat of Division of Corio, the neighbouring Division of Corangamite has been a marginal seat for close to two decades, leading to claims that the Australian Labor Party and the Liberal Party of Australia have both sought to win support from voters by continually upgrading the stadium.
Since January 2018, the stadium has been commercially named GMHBA Stadium.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Hosted events
- Australian Football League
- Victorian Football League
- Geelong Football League finals series
- Victorian Premier Cricket for the Geelong Cricket Club
- KFC Twenty20 Big Bash
- A-League
- A-League Pre-Season Challenge Cup
- W-League (Australia)
- AFC Champions League
- Big Bash League
- National Rugby Championship
- National Rugby League
- 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup
Attendance records
| No. | Date | Teams | Sport | Competition | Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 30 August 1952 | Template:AFL Gee vs Template:AFL Car | Australian rules football | VFL | 49,107 |
| 2 | 16 August 1980 | Template:AFL Gee vs Template:AFL Col | Australian rules football | VFL | 42,278 |
| 3 | 20 April 1981 | Template:AFL Gee vs Template:AFL Col | Australian rules football | VFL | 41,395 |
| 4 | 3 August 1963 | Template:AFL Gee vs Template:AFL Ess | Australian rules football | VFL | 40,885 |
| 5 | 25 April 1964 | Template:AFL Gee vs Template:AFL Col | Australian rules football | VFL | 40,299 |
| 6 | 16 March 2024 | Template:AFL Gee vs Template:AFL StK | Australian rules football | AFL | 39,352 |
| 7 | 28 March 1981 | Template:AFL Gee vs Template:AFL Ess | Australian rules football | VFL | 37,256 |
| 8 | 12 July 1952 | Template:AFL Gee vs Template:AFL Col | Australian rules football | VFL | 36,145 |
| 9 | 25 April 1970 | Template:AFL Gee vs Template:AFL Col | Australian rules football | VFL | 35,654 |
| 10 | 20 June 2025 | Template:AFL Gee vs Template:AFL BL | Australian rules football | AFL | 35,367 |
| Sport | Crowd | Date | Home team | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Rules Football | 49,109 | 30 August 1952 | Template:AFL Gee | Template:AFL Car |
| Association Football (International) | 30,097 | 7 December 2024 | Matildas | Chinese Taipei |
| Cricket (Domestic T20) | 23,586 | 3 January 2018 | Melbourne Renegades | Sydney Sixers |
| Association Football | 21,289 | 2 January 2015 | Melbourne Victory | Perth Glory |
| Cricket (International T20) | 16,407 | 16 October 2022 | Sri Lanka/Netherlands | United Arab Emirates/Namibia |
| Rugby Union | 8,000 | 3 February 2012 | Melbourne Rebels | Waikato Chiefs |
| Rugby League | 7,857<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> | 12 February 2023 | Melbourne Storm | Sydney Roosters |
VFL/AFL records
Players
- Most games played: Ian Nankervis (Template:AFL Gee), 138
- Most goals kicked: Doug Wade (Template:AFL Gee/Template:AFL NM), 413
- Most goals kicked in a match: Doug Wade (Template:AFL Gee), 13.2 (80) vs. Template:AFL NM, 14 August 1971
- Most disposals in a match: Tony Shaw (Template:AFL Col), 48 vs. Template:AFL Gee, 12 May 1984
Teams
- Highest score: Template:AFL Gee 37.11 (233) defeated Template:AFL Mel 7.5 (47), 30 July 2011
- Lowest score: Template:AFL NM 1.8 (14) defeated by Template:AFL Gee 9.15 (69), 10 August 2019
- Biggest margin: Template:AFL Gee defeated Template:AFL Mel, 186 points, 30 July 2011
- Longest winning streak: Template:AFL Gee, 29 games, 2008–2011
Last updated: 11 August 2019.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Dimensions
- Length – 170m
- Width – 115m
- Goals run north to south
The field is the narrowest playing field used for AFL games; however, many other venues are much shorter (with Sydney Cricket Ground being the shortest).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Naming rights sponsors
<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Notes
References
External links
- Template:Official website
- Template:Austadiums
- "Around the Grounds" – Web Documentary – Kardinia Park
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- Sports venues completed in 1941
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- Buildings and structures in Geelong
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