Ambitious Geelong mayor Darryn Lyons wants to turn his city into “the regional capital of soccer for Australia”, but reckons he needs help to build a new 15,000-capacity stadium.
Lyons has labelled football “a boom sport” in Geelong, but concedes Victoria’s second-largest city doesn’t have the facilities to meet demand, especially if it is ever to become a target for A-League expansion.
A new boutique rectangular stadium could be the flagship for football in Geelong, but Lyons has warned he cannot make it happen without assistance from federal and state governments, plus Football Federation Australia (FFA).
Geelong’s Simonds Stadium – an oval venue – hosted Central Coast Mariners versus Melbourne Victory on Friday 8 January.
Meanwhile Central Coast striker Roy O’Donovan received the second longest ban in A-League history after being handed an eight-week suspension for his New Year’s Eve headbutt on Wellington Phoenix defender Manny Muscat.
O’Donovan fronted Football Federation Australia’s (FFA) independent disciplinary committee on Wednesday 6 January, pleading guilty but with mitigating circumstances to a charge of violent off-the-ball conduct during the Mariners’ 3-1 win in Gosford.