By NOEL MURPHY
BUSINESSES have approached Geelong Football Club about advertising on Simonds Stadium’s new light towers, Cats chief Brian Cook has told the Independent.
A planning panel will in February consider City Hall’s plan to allow advertising on the towers, which has the club’s backing.
Mr Cook said potential advertisers had approached the Cats but all possibilities remained on hold for the time being.
“We’ve had a couple people who want to talk about it but there’s not a lot we can do until we get the legislation through.
“It may be that they only approve advertising to a certain height, there’s the whole visual intrusion thing and the government’s own bylaws — they’ve got to work through all of that.”
The football club is keen to offset electricity costs for the lights with advertising revenue. The lights are tipped to turn an extra $49 million for the regional economy over the next decade.
The four 73-metre towers, installed at a cost of $10 million, have enabled night AFL games at Simonds and open the potential for other major events at the 35,000-capacity ground.
A City Hall report on its bid to change planning laws to accommodate advertising on the towers concedes it could impact on the “natural and built environment of Kardinia Park”.
“So it would be important that the light tower signage complements the role of Simonds Stadium, the aesthetic of the light towers and does not detract from the quality of the urban environment of Geelong,” the report stated.
