GFC v GOLD COAST SUNS

1 JUNE, 2013
President’s Speech

I won't repeat all of the welcomes but we acknowledge all of the Federal and State Parliamentarians here and particularly, of course, our Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Premier Dr Denis Napthine.

Prime Minister, we know that you follow the Bulldogs and that's fine. They're our good neighbours up the road - and we fully support their desire to play a few of their home games here at this stadium.

Premier, Denis Napthine and our Mayor, Keith Fagg we know that you are life-long Geelong supporters – and so welcome again to your football home!

And I thank the Federal Minister for Regional Services & Local Communities Catherine King MP and the Victorian Minister for Sport & Recreation Hugh Delahunty MP – and Mike Fitzpatrick and Gillon McLachlan from the AFL - for supporting our stadium projects.  
Well, the financial support of the Federal and State Governments, the City of Greater Geelong, the AFL and our own club has enabled the three stages of the stadium redevelopment to take place and tonight, we celebrate Stage 3 which includes the Players Stand, the Lights and the new Screen.

We are grateful to the State Government for most of the funds for the new stand with support from our City, the AFL and our own club. The new stand incorporates our Community Centre which will be run in collaboration with Deakin University.
The Players Stand celebrates all past players regardless of how many games they played. The name is deliberately egalitarian because it fits our culture which celebrates the 'team'.

And perhaps you entered the stadium through the new Doug Wade gate. Doug is with us tonight and we thank Doug for being willing to relinquish his name from the old stand. The new gate recognises Doug's long contribution to our club.

We thank the Federal Government for funding these magnificent lights – which were designed and built in our region…..  And the Big Screen has been provided by Momentum Energy, the Cotton On Group and the Geelong Cats Sports Foundation – and our local T20 Cricket Bid Team have also been great advocates for this as well.

I also acknowledge all of our sponsors – and in particular our major sponsor Ford and chief executive, Bob Graziano. Ford has supported our club for 88 years in what is the longest running sports sponsorship in the world. We do understand how difficult the past few weeks have been for Ford and its people here in Geelong.

And we welcome Travis Auld and his colleagues from the Gold Coast Suns. Creating a new team is a difficult task and the Suns are doing a wonderful job….. helped, of course, by pinching our very own Gazza.

… and I also warmly welcome Brant Webb - one of the Beaconsfield miners caught underground – and who is a serious Geelong supporter.

It isn't often that we have the heads of all three levels of government with us – our Prime Minister, our Premier and our Mayor …… and it is even more remarkable that I hold the microphone. And so I want to use the opportunity to talk about what tonight means to us.
Someone told me that tonight isn't really about a grandstand and the lights – it is about bringing 'joy to people's lives'. And this is true. There is a great sense of happy anticipation around the place.

But beyond this emotional impact, we are seeing a story played out that is important to our country.

A recurring theme throughout Australian history has been 'decentralisation'. Our population is concentrated in capital cities - and there have been many attempts to develop sustainable communities outside these cities – with mixed results.

I put to you tonight a shining example of regional success. The Geelong Football Club is the second oldest football club in the world – much older even than iconic teams like Manchester United or the Dallas Cowboys.  And what's more, this regional team in Geelong is now being talked about as one of the best Australian football teams of all time. Certainly, our win/loss record over the past 150 games is the most successful in more than 100 years of history of our competition.

Tonight, this regional stadium – which is actually large by international standards - is a sell out. And the national TV audience will be huge. And remember, all of this is in a competition mostly comprised of teams based in capital cities.

And when we look behind the team on the field, we can see how important this team is to our region. We will see 36 players running around - but we won't see the careers of hundreds of people who work behind them…..

…….coaches, doctors, physiotherapists, fitness staff, sports scientists, player counsellors,  IT specialists,  accountants,  psychologists,  event managers,  marketing professionals,  caterers,  security staff,  merchandise sellers,  traffic wardens,  coffee baristas …..and I could go on and on.

You won't see the technologists who manage those minute GPS packs that are tucked into the players' football jumpers, and which communicate data - via a satellite - to the coaches in the box.

And because you are not here during the week –
• You won't see any of the 5,000 school students who will come in the next six months to education sessions in the Deakin Cats Community Centre in the new stand - as part of the 13 different community programs that the Club delivers

• And so you won't see our players encouraging young people to believe that it's 'cool' to be interested in maths and science - or to stand up against cyber bullying and alcohol fuelled violence

• And you won't know that every player tonight will contribute around $20 from his match payments – as they do in every match that they play – giving to a program that tackles youth homelessness

• And you won't have heard about the many community and business groups that use the stadium facilities for functions

Or perhaps I could talk about the 300 requests for help that we receive each week from community organisations or individuals

I simply make the point that we are 'much more than a football club'. We contribute to the regional economy and take our community obligations seriously

We are also pleased that 90 percent of the funds spent on the new grandstand and the lights were spent in our regional economy. Our builders, Kane, worked hard with us to achieve this. Those beautiful light towers, for example, were designed and built in Portland.

And all of this brings me to tonight and I ask you to note that the job is not yet finished. Two-thirds of this stadium is up to modern standards – while one-third is a relic from the 1960s. Our competitor teams all play in modern facilities and we need the same if we are to compete on the national stage.

Furthermore, we believe that we are the only professional sports club in Australia that invests its own funds in a publicly owned stadium. Every dollar of our profit over the past 10 years – around 15 million dollars – has been invested in this stadium and most of this has gone into building facilities for public use.

And so, we are doing our own part and we believe it's reasonable to ask for continuing public support.

Completing the stadium redevelopment will also help our region as it transitions to a more services-based economy. It will deliver jobs and growth in tourism - and it will give our community access to a world class facility and the events that it will attract.

A study by Deloitte’s indicates that further investment to complete the stadium will generate around $625 million in economic activity over the next 10 years - and around 365 full-time jobs would be created…..

That, in a nutshell, is our vision for this venue. We are much more than a football club – although we think we are a pretty good one! We are an important contributor to our regional economy and its community life.  

On behalf of our directors (Gareth Andrews, Craig Drummond, Bob Gartland, Alistair Hamblin, Hugh Seward and Diana Taylor) I thank our executives for their great work in bringing tonight's projects to fruition. We also thank our builders, the project leaders and advisers for a job very well done. And I want to thank our directors who have overseen and supported these very big commitments.
Finally, tonight we welcome our chief executive, Brian Cook, back from his two months at Harvard University. One test of a good leader is that he or she can be absent - and yet the team is able to cope and succeed. Brian, you should feel very proud of the team you have built. Led by Rosie King and Rob Threlfall, they didn't miss a beat.

And so, tonight is a celebration - but at a time when the Geelong community faces challenges.  We know that our football club has a role in ensuring that the people of this great city and the wider region have reason to be positive about the future.  

Thank you for your attention. We hope that you have a very enjoyable evening ….. and, as we always say …. Go Cats.