The Geelong cats continue to kick goals off the field as well as they do on GMHBA Stadium, with the club welcoming its 100,000th visitor to the Deakin Cats Community Centre. The centre opened in 2013, and is the hub of the Cats community initiatives.

Programs such as BioCATS, Just Think, Cyber Cats, Healthy Heroes and Read the Play are held regularly in the centre, which is also available to community groups free of charge.

“The Deakin Cats Community Centre is a key plank in our desire to change people’s lives through community involvement,” Geelong Cats general manager of community Sarah Albon said.

“The club runs programs from the centre, and also opens its doors to community groups who have access to a state of the art facility.

“We are proud of the difference the club makes and we will continue to strive to positively impact the community.”

In partnership with Deakin University, this purpose-built facility contributes to the Cats’ community vision for greater engagement with the broader Geelong community, by providing a free, state-of-the-art facility.

The centre is also home to the Past Players and Officials Association and houses the clubs memorabilia in the Gartland Heritage Centre. There have been over 130 different community organisations that have utilised the Centre to achieve health and wellbeing outcomes for the community.

The Deakin Cats Community Centre is one of the 10 Cats in the Community programs which help empower young people to make good choices about their health and wellbeing.