By NOEL MURPHY
GEELONG Football Club, unable to fill its grand new stadium at Kardinia Park, has been promised $70 million by the Labor Party in the lead-up to November’s State election for a further stadium upgrade.
The clear pitch to win the Cats fan vote has been coupled to a $30 million promise to upgrade the Geelong Performing Arts Centre – at odds with the primary push by City Hall and G21 to build a new Yarra St Pier, although G21 ranks GPAC on equal footing with the pier.
Opposition leader Daniel Andrews formally announced the Kardinia Park upgrade this morning after releasing it to select media outlets yesterday in another clear pitch to secure positive coverage for the controversial cash slurge.
Neither project has been on the agenda for any period of time. Public concerns about GPAC only came to light weeks ago; the Cats latest improved stadium and lights opened last year.
The Labor footy push is aimed clearly also against the Yarra St campaign spearheaded by mayor Darryn Lyons, who has locked horns with Labor’s South Barwon candidate and fellow councillor Andy Richards.
It seems aimed at capitalising on the rift between the Lyons camp and the Frank Costa camp, where legal action is under way over election advertisements at last year’s mayoral poll. Mr Costa’s brother Robert heads the GPAC board.
The Labor Catland vote pitch would see Kardinia Park’s Simonds Stadium expanded by 2500 to 36,000 – purportedly within a Labor state government’s first term.
Labor claims the bigger crowd capacity would help draw more games to the stadium although history suggests the opposite – the Cats have in fact received fewer home games with recent upgrades, including lights.
The $70 million promise follows the Napthine Government’s announcement of $5 million toward planning for the next stage of development at Simonds Stadium.
