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| Skilled Stadium Kardinia Park "The Cattery" |
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| Former names | Kardinia Park (non sponsorial name) Shell Stadium Baytec Stadium |
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| Location | South Geelong, Victoria |
| Opened | 1941 |
| Closed | N/A |
| Demolished | N/A |
| Owner | City of Greater Geelong |
| Operator | Geelong Football Club |
| Surface | Grass |
| Construction cost | Redevelopment: $28 million |
| Architect | Peddle Thorp (Redevelopment) |
| Capacity | Current: 28,000 Record Crowd: 49,109- 30/8/1952 (Geelong v Carlton) |
| Field dimensions | 170 x 115 m |
| Tenants | |
| Current: Geelong Football Club (AFL) (1941-present) | |
- Not to be confused with Skilled Park, home ground of the Gold Coast Titans in the NRL. For the public park of the same name in Geelong, Victoria, see Kardinia Park.
Kardinia Park, currently known as Skilled Stadium is an Australian rules football (AFL) stadium located in South Geelong, Victoria. The stadium is the home ground of the Geelong Football Club.
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History
The Geelong Football Club began playing home games at Kardinia Park in 1941 after its previous home ground, Corio Oval, was needed for military reasons.
Previous names of the stadium as results of sponsorship deals have been Shell Stadium and Baytec Stadium (However it was only called Baytec Stadium for less than 2 months, and no AFL matches were played there under the name). On May 23, 2002, Kardinia park hosted a visit from the Dalai Lama who again visited the stadium in June 2007.
The stadium was for many years the only VFL affiliated ground located outside the Melbourne metropolitan area.
Redevelopments
An AUD $28 million redevelopment of the ground was announced in 2003, with $13.5 million in funding from the State Government, $4.5 million from the Geelong Football Club, and $2 million from the AFL.[1] The redeveloped ground was opened on May 1, 2005 during the first home game of the 2005 season which includes a new western entry and membership area, as well as a new five level grandstand with a capacity of approximately 6000 spectators on the eastern side of the stadium. A favourite for the honour of the naming of the new stand was Bob Davis, coach of the Cats' last premiership side in 1963.
On June 15, 2005, City of Greater Geelong councillors granted the club its wish to change the name of the new eastern stand to the Reg Hickey Stand, while the southern stand became the Doug Wade Stand. The northern terrace became known as the Gary Ablett Terrace while the western gate was re-named the Bob Davis Gate.
In September 2007, Skilled Stadium has received a further total $26 million towards the rebuilding of the Ross Drew Stand on the south eastern side of the ground, with completion due by April 2010.[2] $50,000 is also being spent on a new 600-seat temporary stand between the Reg Hickey and Doug Wade stands.[3]
Hosted events
- Australian Football League
- Victorian Football League
- Geelong Football League finals series
- Victorian Premier Cricket for the Geelong Cricket Club
Dimensions
- Length - 170m
- Width - 115m
- Goals run north to south
References
- Kardinia Park (stadium) at Austadiums
- Peter Begg (1990). Geelong - The First 150 Years. Globe Press. ISBN 0-9592863-5-7
- "Around the Grounds" - Web Documentary - Kardinia Park
- ^ "KARDINIA PARK UPGRADE TO GIVE GEELONG NEW BOUNCE". Media Release: FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PREMIER. www.dtf.vic.gov.au (June 20, 2003). Retrieved on 2008-07-04.
- ^ Dylan Tickell (July 2, 2008). "Spring start to Skilled work", Geelong News, p. 2. Retrieved on 2008-07-04.<ref> $14 million is from the Federal government and $6 million is from the Victorian government. [[Division of Corangamite|Federal MP for Corangamite]] [[Stewart McArthur]] advocated the project, despite the stadium being outside his electorate.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.treasurer.gov.au/DisplayDocs.aspx?doc=pressreleases/2007/097.htm&pageID=003&min=phc&Year=&DocType=0 |title=Geelong Scores a Win with Funding for Skilled Stadium |work=Press Release - Peter Costello |date=December 3, 2007 |publisher=www.treasurer.gov.au |accessdate=2008-07-04 }}</li> <li id="cite_note-2">'''[[#cite_ref-2|^]]''' {{cite web |url=http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2008/05/22/14219_geelong_sports.html |title=Funding boost for Geelong clubs |work=The Geelong Advertiser |date=May 22, 2008 |publisher=www.geelongadvertiser.com.au |accessdate=2008-07-04 }}</li></ol></ref>
| Geelong Cats |
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| The Club Club History | Premierships & Records | Players |
| Seasons 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 |
| Stadiums Skilled Stadium | Telstra Dome | Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Captain Tom Harley (2007 - Present) |
| Coach Mark "Bomber" Thompson (2000 - Present) |
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