Following an extensive review of GMHBA Stadium’s seating the Cats have announced changes to reserved seating and Social Club pricing for 2019.
In a letter to the affected members during the week, Cats CEO Brian Cook said the club along with the AFL did extensive work benchmarking the club’s reserved seat and Social Club pricing against both Victorian and interstate comparable seating options.
“This review has focused on benchmarking our seat categories, with comparable seats at other AFL venues.” Cook said.
“This has been a challenging process for our club and the decision to make these price changes was not taken lightly.
“It involved months of work and research, in order to find the most suitable solution for both our Members and the club.”
Cook explained that there were multiple factors which predicated the changes to the reserved seats in the Brownlow and Premiership Stands as well as the Geelong Social Club including the benchmarking, the demand for seating at the stadium and the club’s commitment to exiting the gaming industry.
“A key aspect of the redevelopment of the Brownlow Stand was the removal of the gaming machines that had previously been housed in the venue.” Cook said.
“The Geelong Cats are committed to exiting the gaming industry and we’ve already made strong gains in this regard.
“This is something our Members have been asking for and we’ve put that want into action.”
“As a result, we must look into added revenue opportunities and further possible changes to our business model.”
Cook stressed the decision to make the changes wasn’t something to be taken lightly. Members are offered payment plans and also the ability to move to other reserved seats under the cost of their current package.
AFL Fans Association president Gary Eeman told the Geelong Advertiser that despite the changes GMHBA Stadium was still of the league’s most affordable venues.
“Obviously no one ever likes prices going up, but it is whether it is reasonable.” Eeman said.
“What I like about what they did is that they didn’t jack up the prices with no explanation, so I appreciate that they took the time to set out their reasoning.
“It is still reasonably affordable to go to the footy in Geelong, which is great, and we recognise that it is still a ground that is more price conscious than others.
Members whose pricing has changed or those seeking to enquire about reserved seating options can contact the club’s membership team on 1300 GO CATS or via membership.geelongcats.com.au
