Frank wants final at ‘G

Former Cats president says fans deserve to go

GEELONG footy club patron Frank Costa says even if the Cats earn a home final, they should play the game in Melbourne because too many members would be denied tickets at Kardinia Park.

The influential Cats backer said any club that finishes in the top two on the AFL ladder should get the right to choose where they play their first final.

Mr Costa, who was club president from 1998 to 2010, said he’d “thought deeply” about the finals venue debate and believes Geelong should play any home finals at the MCG, as GMHBA Stadium would sell out too quickly.

However, Mr Costa said the decision should be made by the club’s board of directors, of which he is no longer a member.

“Any club that finishes first or second should get the opportunity to have a home final,” Mr Costa said.

“In Geelong’s case we have to consider that we have 65,000-plus members now, and we’ve got a capacity of about 34,000, which means more than half of our members would not be allowed to go.

“If I was given the chance — as a supporter — to go to a final at the MCG but knew I couldn’t go at Kardinia Park, well, I’d say, ‘Give me the MCG’, because it’s only an hour up the road.”

Mr Costa’s position echoes the views Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett expressed in the Geelong Advertiser last week, but varies slightly from the Cats’ official stance.

On top of the ladder with seven rounds to play, the Cats have told the AFL they want to play a final at home in Geelong if they are drawn against a lower-placed interstate team in week one of September.

Others have argued if the Cats are entitled to a home final they should play it in Geelong, even if it was against a big-drawing Melbourne club, such as Collingwood or Richmond, rather than conceding the home-ground advantage.

Mr Costa said he was proud the Kardinia Park stadium had improved so much that a legitimate argument could now be had about its merits as a finals venue. But he said the Cats had worked tirelessly to sign up more members and those loyal supporters all deserved the chance to go.

“It (Geelong) is a beautiful stadium. It’s a great place to watch football (but) it’s just that too many people would miss out,” he said. “I’d view it on the side of the members. We’ve been trying ever since I got involved — 21-or-so years ago — to build our membership; and that’s happened slowly but surely.

“… I just think too many people who would miss out (if a final were played in Geelong).”