But the stadium’s wait for finals footy is expected to extend beyond a decade, with the Cats unlikely to be given a choice of where to play their home final due to an AFL contract taking priority. GMHBA Stadium, also known as Kardinia Park, has only ever hosted a single final in its history – a qualifying final against Fremantle in 2013. And it isn’t likely to hold another at least for another year with Geelong’s desire to hold a true home final set to be trumped by a deal the AFL has made with the MCG.
The contract the AFL has with the MCG stipulates that if there’s only one final in Victoria in weeks one, two and three, it must be played at the MCG. Victorian preliminary finals must also be played at the MCG with a contract to 2059 for an MCG Grand Final.
But Geelong were hopeful they could get a true home final this season despite also not fulfilling the capacity requirements under the AFL deal. Under the terms of the MCG’s contract with the AFL, any finals games in the first two weeks of the finals – the qualifying, elimination and semi-finals – with an expected crowd of 55,000 or more must be played at the home of football, the MCG. Geelong are also made to host two MCG home games per season against top-drawing Victorian opposition.
GMHBA stadium only has a capacity of 40,000 but the league at its discretion can grant an exception. However, with Geelong likely to be one of as little as three Victorian teams to make this year’s AFL finals series, they are likely to be the only one able to host a game in Melbourne.
The Bulldogs and Hawks are the two Victorian teams in the mix to host an elimination final, with the chasing pack of Carlton, Essendon and Collingwood just trying to scrape into the eight. Therefore it is almost certain the Cats’ home final will be played at the MCG. Geelong’s requests for a home final have been long denied to maximise attendance but the approximate 40,000-strong crowd at GMHBA Stadium would surpass every Victoria-versus-interstate final played.
Cats hopeful but not confident they can play at GMHBA Stadium
Cats coach Chris Scott says he is hopeful that his club will soon be allowed to play wherever they choose moving forward. “I think every team should play their 11 home games where they choose,” he said this season.
“If they choose to farm them to Alice Springs, or Darwin, that’s fine. But you shouldn’t be forced to play home games away from your home venue. That’s the Geelong choice to play all 11 home games down at Geelong.”
But Channel 7 AFL reporter Mitch Cleary said on Channel’s Talking Footy that the Cats are realistically resigned to the fact that won’t happen and that they also will be made to play their home finals games at the MCG again this year. “The AFL has gone into the contracts and it shows that if there’s only one final in Victoria in weeks one, two and three, it has to be played at the MCG,” Mitch Cleary said.
“So right now even if Geelong finish second and host a home qualifying final, that has to be played at the MCG if there’s no other final. The Cats, behind the scenes, are increasingly resigned to the fact that they’ll be playing their home final at the MCG regardless of where the other games will be played.
And a Dogs or Hawks clash at the MCG — either against each other or potentially Fremantle — is unlikely to be enough for Geelong to convince the AFL to send an interstate team down the highway in the only other Victorian final.
