Lights bid for Skilled

Andrew Mathieson
Plans for floodlights at Skilled Stadium have given Geelong hope of hosting AFL finals, according to Cats chief executive Brian Cook.
He told radio station SEN the club’s board secretly believed light towers were the last piece of the puzzle in overcoming frustrations at having to play “home” finals on the MCG.
“I think there still may be an opportunity when we get the lights that we could have a possible final here,” Mr Cook said.
Additional plans to boost the ground’s capacity to at least 35,000 by 2012 could also help entice rugby league, union and soccer fixtures, he said.
Installation of lights and the capacity expansion would allow rival Victorian AFL clubs to play home matches in Geelong rather than selling matches interstate.
Mr Cook said the expansion could pave the way for the lights.
“That’s on the agenda (and) has actually been on our agenda for a little while,” he said.
Lights would make playing at Skilled Stadium “a touch more palatable” for other AFL sides.
State Government committed $25 million to a new grandstand at the northern end goals last week as part of stage three of Skilled Stadium’s redevelopment.
Mr Cook said a successful Australian 2022 World Cup soccer bid would secure funding for lighting and further increase capacity to 44,000.
“Lights are not in stage three but they are for the World Cup, suffice to say there is a couple of funding agencies that may want lights – maybe the City (of Greater Geelong) do, maybe the AFL do for their fixturing.”
Mr Cook said reports the new northern grandstand would be named after Gary Ablett were speculation.
“We have actually kept both goal ends – one for the Doug Wade stand and one for the Gary Ablett Snr stand – and that decision was made some years ago.
“However, it has to be finally made and endorsed by the board of the time whether that’s in five years or 10 years time.”
But the third of the new Geelong grandstands, which have cost $45 million, could be scrapped if Geelong secures World Cup matches. The plan would then be to rebuild the stadium’s entire western side along the lines of the newest premiership stand.
“You’re talking a couple of hundred million dollars being placed into this stadium forever then and having a fantastic legacy for Geelong if we win the World Cup,” Mr Cook said.