- Published:
- Saturday 22 November 2025 at 10:00 am
Kardinia Park Stadium has again proven to be Australia’s premier regional sporting and major events destination - with the venue generating more than $190 million for the Victorian economy last financial year.
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos today announced the release of the Social and Economic Value of Kardinia Park Stadium Trust in 2024/25 which also showed the ground hosted more than 480,000 visitors across 44 events.
Led by another jam-packed AFL and AFLW schedule featuring the hometown Geelong Cats, Kardinia Park Stadium also held two exciting Big Bash League cricket matches, saw the Matildas return for their friendly match against Chinese Taipei and remained a heartbeat for community events for groups across Geelong and the Bellarine.
The list of major events attracted 190,000 visitors from outside the local region to experience the elite venue. More than 21,000 local participants took part in five community events at Kardinia Park Stadium.
These results are possible thanks to the completion of the $142 million Kardinia Park Stadium Stage 5 Redevelopment, highlighted by the newly delivered Joel Selwood Stand which increased the overall stadium capacity to 40,000.
The redevelopment also included exciting new activations at the venue delivered over the past 18 months including Djilang Plaza, the Barwon Regional Cricket Centre and the Geelong Sports Museum.
Construction on the redevelopment, managed and delivered by the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, was supported with the Labor Government investing $121 million for stages 1-4.
Quote attributable to Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos
“This report shows how vital Kardinia Park Stadium is for the local community and Victoria, pumping millions into our visitor economy, supporting jobs and showcasing our state to the world.”
Quote attributable to Member for Geelong Christine Couzens
“Kardinia Park Stadium is one of Geelong’s most recognised landmarks and helps drive visitors to the region ─ backing local jobs, businesses and our economy.”
Quote attributable to Kardinia Park Stadium Trust Chair John Eren
The Kardinia Park Stadium Trust social and economic report highlights how important the stadium is within Victoria and how we must continue to evolve to meet the growing needs of the community.”