Cats ask City, AFL ‘for $6m’

JOHN VAN KLAVEREN
Geelong’s council and the AFL must contribute $3 million each for work to start on a scaled-down stage-three redevelopment of Skilled Stadium, according to Cats chief Brian Cook.
The Geelong Football Club chief executive officer said the Cats would know within four weeks whether they had secured the funding.
State Government had already committed $25 million, he said.
“We’re waiting to hear on our requests of contributions of $3 million each from the AFL and the city. There’s a strong possibility we’ll commence the new construction at the end of year.”
Mr Cook said the project would replace the stadium’s Doug Wade stand with a new facility worth up to $34 million by early 2013.
The club would put $2 million into the project but also take a $1 million hit due to reduced ground capacity, he said.
The club would seek opportunities to redistribute as many of the 6600 Wade stand seats as possible elsewhere within the stadium.
The redevelopment would boost total capacity to 34,500.
Mr Cook said final funding would determine the stand design.
The club submitted an extensive stage three redevelopment proposal as part of Australia’s failed World Cup bid.
The club has previously said a redevelopment of the stadium’s northern end, including lights, could be pushed back to stage four but would depend on federal funding. The stage four proposal also included a sport museum, a sports medicine centre and improved facilities for Cricket Geelong.