The City of Greater Geelong has proposed plans for a new major soccer hub to address the region’s lack of professional level facilities. 
The proposal revealed a bid for a new regional facility in Geelong’s north which would transform the landscape of soccer in the city.
Plans for the facility highlighted it could provide up to eight elite pitches, including a primary exhibition pitch which could hold between 1000 to 2000 people for standard games, and up to 5000 people for special events.
On this show pitch, Geelong locals could bear witness to future National Premier League, A-League and even international games on their doorstep.
Currently, the council is scrutinising nine different locations across Geelong’s north for the proposed soccer hub. Additionally, a second subregional multi-sports hub towards the city’s south in the Armstrong Creek region was also revealed.
Rumblings of a regional soccer centre in Geelong first occurred in 2021 when the City of Greater Geelong committed $50,000 to a feasibility and business plan, which was later strengthened through a strategic partnership between the council and Football Victoria.
Speaking to Soccerscene, City of Greater Geelong Councilor and Chair of Sports and Recreation, Eddy Kontelj, explained why the proposed hubs would be so vital to soccer in the region.
“These regional facilities would open up so many great opportunities for us,” Cr Kontelj said.
“In terms of the development of coaches, players and administrators, a central location would certainly help us to correlate all the skills and services you need to help aid that development.
“But the exposure to the game here would be opened up too. Having significant tournaments played here of a national nature would be such an advantage.”
Furthermore, the council has plans for the new soccer hub to be used for premier games and competitions.
“In 2022-23 we completed an issues and opportunities report to assess where we need to go, and that’s driven this focus to establish our regional and subregional facilities in Geelong. We invited all our clubs and Western United to participate and we got really good feedback from it,” Cr Kontelj said.
‘United is really excited and they’re looking forward to being able to partner with us in Geelong to continue to grow the game in the region.
“And a facility like this could include the W-league, the Matildas, and the Socceroos – and the opportunity for those clubs to also train at a higher level at this type of facility.”
Currently, there is a shortage of elite level facilities in the Geelong region for soccer players. In 2023, the G21 Regional Football Strategy 2023-33 revealed that 36% of the city’s pitches were in a “poor” condition. The same report found a lack of football facilities, specifically multi-pitch facilities featuring natural, hybrid and synthetic grass were inhibiting participation and the ability to draw tournaments to the region.
Additionally, without a dedicated soccer hub, Geelong is on the backfoot compared to Victoria’s other major regional cities, Bendigo, Ballarat, Shepperton and Mildura.
Cr Kontelj denied that the sport had been neglected in the region but said that there was more to be done.
“At the club level our facilities are magnificent. I’ve compared those with the facilities Melbourne has and I’d have to suggest our sporting facilities are probably superior. I’ve even had club presidents tell me that too,” he said.
“However, having that said that – it’s the expansion and development of the game that we have probably been a little slower on, and that is something we must catch up on now.”
Through the new sports hubs across Geelong’s northern and southern regions, the council hopes the plans will not only cater for the area’s pre-existing network of players, clubs and fans but also provide easy access to pristine sporting facilities for a rapidly growing city.
“We’re one of fastest growing cities in Australia currently and we’ve got some new growth areas that are opening up – namely the north-northwest growth zone, which is forecasting to have some 110,000 to 120,000 people living there in the next 20 years,” Cr Kontelj said.
“This project is not only a requirement today. It’s going to be a requirement going forward with the growth of population that we’re expecting.”
The council now aims to finalise the hubs’ design and secure funding for the project.
