Case Study – Kardinia Park (GMHBA Stadium).

Project

Case Study – Kardinia Park (GMHBA Stadium)

Industry

Sports & Recreation

Project Details

GMHBA Stadium is the home of the Geelong Cats AFL side and has been a significant regional community asset for the City of Greater Geelong for almost 75 years. Whilst the Stadium is best known for its AFL match day usage, the Stadium is a truly multi-purpose venue with its diverse facilities being used for a range of elite and community level sports and events.

To enable the Stadium to host such a diverse range of events, the venue has undergone three stages of redevelopment since 2002. This has included the demolition and redevelopment of the Brownlow and Jennings Stands on the Western Side of the ground, as well as many other additions, including;

• A 100 seat café which has views through glass to the Cat’s warm-up zone
• Increased seating including greater levels of undercover spectator seating
• A new GFC social club
• New training, administration and players facilities for the GFC
• New facilities for the media and broadcasters
• A large, multi-purpose 1000 seat function room
• The Sunrise Centre, a specialist community rehabilitation area which assists with return-to-work training
• Player welfare and development centre
• Gymnasium and cardio area that is the largest in the city, about three times the size of the club’s previous gym
• Improved game-day spaces including a shield shaped locker room, auditorium and hybrid change room to cater to the VFL and women’s team

CAG Key Deliverables

With hundreds of thousands of footfalls annually, the infrastructure needed to be built with due consideration for facility access to people of all ages and abilities (including those with some form of physical impairment). In addition, the entrances and stairs need to ensure safe passage for people during wet days, while keeping the facility aesthetically pleasing to the eye. 

Classic was able to provide a solution for enhancing the safety and access at GMHBA Stadium that included entrance matting, increasing retention of dirt and moisture, external stair nosings, enhancing the safety on stairs across the stadium, and internal and external tactiles to provide adequate guidance for the visually impaired.

Key Stats

• GMHBA Stadium hosts more than 90 local, national and international events each year, attracting more than 400,000 visitors. 
• The capacity at the stadium has now increased to 34,000, making it the largest capacity Australian stadium in a regional city.
• One of the most innovative features of the development was the Fan Portal in the new stand, a world first for fans and those who want to feel a part of the players’ pre and post-game activities.
• A 45m² glass ceiling to the players’ kick-up space provides an exciting and highly connected visual and audible experience above, with visitors to the Portal having a sensational overhead view to pre-match warm-ups, post-game warm-downs and media interviews.

Supplied and Installed

Entrance Matting

• Classic Integra Vantt 5500 – Roll-up Aluminium Matting

Stair Nosings

• Classic Tredfx DKR104– Aluminium Safety Stair Nosing for Surface Mount Applications

Tactiles

• Classic Tredfx SH10N – Stainless Steel TGSI Individual Tactile