By JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
ONE OF Geelong Performing Arts Centre’s major benefactors has backed the case for the ageing venue to be the reigon’s top priority for government funding.
Millionaire Robert Costa, one of the powers behind the Costa fruit empire, ranked GPAC above Mayor Darryn Lyons’ push for a new Yarra St Pier and Geelong Football Club’s $140 million bid to complete stage four and five upgrades of Simonds Stadium.
The Independent reported last week that GPAC’s upgrade plan had revealed the centre was now “unsafe” and “no longer fit for purpose”.
Mr Costa said the Yarra St Pier was a “distracting chimera” with “vague benefits” but GPAC presented a solid business and employment case.
“GPAC is suffering from neglect and requires a complete renewal to meet the current and future needs of the greater Geelong region,” he said.
“The whole building is non-compliant for today’s regulations for disabled access, fire and electrical services and concrete cancer is evident – the list goes on and on.
“It was built 33 years ago for a regional population of 140,000, but today tries to service the needs of over 300,000. The facility is suffering from patch-up maintenance.”
Mr Costa said governments had committed $50 million to redeveloping Geelong’s cultural precinct but ignored GPAC.
“GPAC is not a burden on the State Government as it provides a surplus of funds each year. For every dollar the government provides GPAC generates more than four additional dollars through ticket sales, venue hire and sponsorship.”
Mr Costa said GPAC was “the core of our arts precinct” and a vital component of the region’s education program.
The “shovel-ready” redevelopment project would provide 600 jobs during construction, 200 ongoing and a further 450 among suppliers, he said.
Mayor Darryn Lyons said a Yarra Street Pier would deliver 430 jobs and $61.4 million to Geelong in its first 10 years.
“The business case also found that Geelong could attract up to 25 cruise ships per year by 2025 if we had a purpose built cruise ship pier,” he said.
“A dedicated berth for cruise ships and visiting navy vessels will enable Geelong businesses to share in the provisioning of ships – food, beverages and fuel can be sourced locally which is worth a minimum $300,000 per ship visit.
“The Yarra St Pier is the number-one funding priority for the City of Greater Geelong.”
