Supporters attending games at Skilled Stadium will have even more enjoyable facilities with construction of a new state of the art stand now underway.

Geelong Cats CEO Brian Cook was joined by City of Greater Geelong Mayor, Cr. Bruce Harwood to announce the appointment of WATPAC Construction as the builder for the Skilled Stadium redevelopment.

Mr Cook said the club was looking forward to the redevelopment and highlighted the significance of it to the long term future of the club.

"The second stage in the redevelopment will provide huge benefits to the community, our supporters, our team and the club for many years, and it has ensured that the club will continue to play the majority of home games in Geelong with capacity increased to 30,000,” Mr Cook said.

"The building process will also create additional jobs within the Geelong region which is significant in the current economic climate.

"The 2009 season will mark the club's 150th year and to have the construction taking place in that year is symbolic of how far the club has come through the years."

”Watpac is an internationally renowned builder and we are thrilled that they are on board as the builder on this project.”

“This project would not be possible without the funding support of the Federal, State and Local Government’s, and the AFL. The benefits that will flow from this redevelopment will assist the community in many ways.”

AFL CEO, Andrew Demetriou said the AFL was extremely grateful to the Victorian Government, the Australian Federal Government and the City of Geelong for their continued support of Skilled Stadium as an AFL venue.

"The Geelong Football Club is the second-oldest team in the history of our game, and has represented the region with distinction at the highest level for more than a century.

"The AFL believes it is vital for the national strength of our game for Geelong to maintain its high-profile presence in regional Victoria, and this support enables the club and the fans to continue to enjoy world-class facilities," Mr Demetriou said.

Mayor Bruce Harwood highlighted the positive impact the development will have on the Geelong community.

'This is very welcome news. The support from all levels of government, the AFL and the Club for this redevelopment will have a very positive impact for the Geelong region.

'Helping to secure a certain future for one of the region's economic industries is always going to be most encouraging news,' Mayor Harwood said.

WATPAC Construction (Vic) has recently undertaken other projects in the Geelong area, including the Geelong Grammar Wellbeing Centre, Sacred Heart College Geelong Performing Arts Centre and car park and road works at Avalon airport and Lara Prison.

Hedley Davis, Watpac Construction (Vic) General Manager, said the new stand was an exciting project for Watpac’s Victorian business in Geelong.

‘’Watpac have been active in the Geelong market for a number of years, and we are now delighted to be working with the Geelong Cats," Mr Davis said.

"Many of the projects Watpac undertake help to revitalise local communities, and our work in Geelong reflects this. I look forward to seeing the new stand project commence soon, and to undertaking more projects in the area in the future."

·                Construction duration – Approximately 17 months.

·                Expected completion date - April 2010.

·                Total Project Cost – Approximately $29 million.

·                5 key funding partners for the Project:

Ø             Federal Government;

Ø             State Government;

Ø             Geelong Football Club

Ø             Australian Football League; and

Ø             City of Greater Geelong

·                Specific scope elements of the Project:

Ø             A new 5,000 seat (approximately) grandstand with approximately 3,000 of these seats being undercover;

Ø             Approximately 2,700 additional general public seats;

Ø             Improved disabled spectator facilities and general public match day facilities;

Ø             A new 300 seat function room.

Ø             A 400m² high performance gymnasium with access for local high performance athletes as part of the community access model;

Ø             Improved football administration facilities; including training, multimedia and medical and treatment rooms; 

Ø             New and improved aquatic rehabilitation facilities to aid athlete recovery; and

Ø             Over 2000m² of improved Club administration facilities.

·                Project Team:

Ø             Builder – WATPAC Construction (VIC)

Ø             Project Manager – Coffey Projects

Ø             Quantity Surveyor – Davis Langdon

Ø             Project Director – Stratcorp Consulting

Ø             Architect – HOK Sport Architecture

Ø             Structural and Services Engineer – Connell Wagner

Ø             Building Surveyor – Philip Chun & Associates