Movies latest idea to utilise stadium

UP CLOSE: Fraser Mackey meets the dinosaurs of Jurassic World Experience at Kardinia Park ahead of the movie screening in March.

A free family movie night featuring Jurassic Park is the latest initiative of managers trying to find new events for Kardinia Park’s stadium.

The screening of the hit 1993 movie in March would be the first in a series of movie nights, said Kardinia Park Stadium Trust.

The screenings would be “the perfect way for us to showcase the stadium as a true multi-purpose venue“, said outgoing trust chief executive officer Michael Brown.

“A key objective for us has always been to open up Australia’s best regional stadium to the community,” Mr Brown said.

“I encourage the Geelong community to join us for this unforgettable experience at GMHBA Stadium.”

The movies announcement followed a series of non-AFL events at the stadium in recent months, including A-league soccer and T20 cricket matches.

Other events included a Vinnies CEO Sleepout in June and October’s 2018 Festival of Sport with over 80 participating groups, Mr Brown said.

“The 2018 Festival of Sport was a successful free community event involving 80 local and state organisations,” Mr Brown said.

“We had 15,000 people attend over two days. This was remarkable outcome for its first year.”

The trust came under fire last year for perceptions of an inadequate events calendar at the stadium, which continues undergoing a series of mostly publicly funded redevelopments. The cost of the upgrades will total around $270 million after the yet-to-begin final and fifth stage.

“There has been considerable investment into Kardinia Park and we would expect taxpayers to get good value for money for that investment,” Nationals state MP Danny O’Brien told the Indy last year.

His comments followed former Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons slamming the trust for doing “nothing” with the stadium.

The trust was established in 2016 to administer, promote and manage the stadium.

In December Mr Brown cited family reasons when announcing his resignation from the trust, effective on 15 February.