WE WILL NOT RELENT
All 11 home games at KP on Cats’ 2020 fixture wishlist
GEELONG will again request to play all 11 home games at GMHBA Stadium in 2020, declaring it will “not relent” in its lobbying of the AFL.
The Cats received nine matches at Kardinia Park this year, but have written to the league mounting their case for a full complement of true home games next year.
The club is hopeful the AFL will schedule a big-drawing Melbourne club in Geelong, but chief executive Brian Cook acknowledged the league’s contractual arrangements with the Melbourne Cricket Club may prevent that occurring.
While there has been some talk from commentators that Geelong should request more matches at the MCG to better prepare for finals football, Cook said the Cats were not going to be pressured to move games from their traditional home venue.
“Our position, and what we have said to the AFL, is ideally we want to play 11 games at GMHBA Stadium and we are not going to relent on this,” Cook told the Geelong Advertiser.
“They think we are going to relent on this because they think we are kidding, but we are not — we want 11 games down at GMHBA.”
THE (AFL) THINK WE ARE GOING TO RELENT ON THIS BECAUSE THEY THINK WE ARE KIDDING, BUT WE ARE NOT — WE WANT 11 GAMES DOWN AT GMHBA
“If, however, for them to meet their stadium requirements and everything else, and we have to play Collingwood at the MCG, then we understand that, but our minimum is nine, and we are really strong on that,” Cook said.
“There might be a year where we don’t play Collingwood, Essendon, Richmond or Hawthorn as a home game for us and if that is the case there is no reason we can’t play 11.
“So we have written to the AFL and told them that.”
The GMHBA Stadium capacity will grow once the final stage of the redevelopment is finished, which could increase Geelong’s chances of hosting a home final if it earns the right.
Irrespective of how that plays out, Cook said the club had put itself in a strong position off-field and had rid itself almost entirely of the revenue it generated through pokies.
“We reached nearly 66,000 members, which was a record, and were able to attract $100 million for stage 5 of the GMHBA Stadium redevelopment, which will start next year,” he said.
“We also had the highest average crowd for AFLW and are now second in sponsorship stakes behind West Coast, so to think that a regional team with a capacity stadium of 34,000 is No.2 in raising sponsorship dollars is outstanding.”