Stadium secures GFL finals for three years
THE Geelong Football League finals are staying at GMHBA Stadium — at least for the next three years.
AFL Barwon and the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust yesterday confirmed they had reached a commercial agreement that ensures the league’s finals will be played at the venue.
It avoids a repeat of last year’s drama when AFL Barwon threatened to move the first two weeks of finals to West Oval over the costs associated with hiring the AFL sta- dium before the Government stepped in.
“We’ve sorted through all those commercial details, we’re very happy,” Kardinia Park Stadium Trust chief State executive Michael Brown said.
“We just want to make sure we get the best here ... and obviously the best standard footy in the region, it’s exciting for us.
“When people come along they’ll have great seats and enjoy what should be another amazing finals series.”
All GFL finals will be played at the stadium when it is available, given there is the possibility of the Cats hosting home AFL finals in Geelong.
“We’ve managed to work around that and we’ve got a very fluid arrangement that allows us to use Saturday-Sundays wherever’s required,” Brown said.
“I hope they (the Cats) do. We’d love to see an AFL final here and then a GFL final the next day.
“But all that needs to be de- termined later.”
AFL Barwon region manager Lee Hartman did not completely rule out the possibility of night finals, but said the fixture was unlikely.
“It’s probably something we wouldn’t rule out,” he said.
“But, at this stage, we’re looking to play day finals for this year, but that’s not to say it won’t be explored in the future.” Hartman said the threeyear deal was a win for local footy.
“The best-ranked community league in Victoria playing at the best stadium in regional Victoria is a win for all concerned,” he said.