Council drops Geelong Arena roof replacement plan

A MILLION-dollar plan to replace the roof of the Geelong Arena has been dropped with the City of Greater Geelong opting to treat the existing structure with a sealant.

Existing gutters and down pipes will be replaced as part of the works that are still estimated to cost $1 million, underwritten through the federal government’s Community Infrastructure fund, but the changed plans are considered to be less disruptive to the site.

An initial budget of $1.5 million was allocated to the project.

The chair of Geelong Council’s sport portfolio Cr Ron Nelson said the roof replacement would have required a three to six-month closure and “while it’s expected there will be minor disruptions during the sealing works, user groups and tenants will no longer need to relocate”.

A COGG spokesperson said council is seeking to establish the most suitable timeframe to carry out the work, but until then the Arena will now begin accepting bookings beyond October 2022 through to mid-2023 when the closure was initially planned.

The amended works program was approved during a closed meeting when council last met in June, and will see the facility’s external roof sheeting treated with a binding compound sealant.

Late last year council resolved to start searching for a third-party manager of the Arena, citing financial pressures incurred from its pandemic forced closures, the spokesperson said that process is ongoing.

The city is developing a business case for a new Regional Indoor Sports and Events Centre, a project it considered a “priority”.

In response to the awarding of the 2026 Commonwealth games to Victoria, when Geelong will act as a host city, deputy mayor Trent Sullivan said council would lobby state and federal governments to help fund the new facility.

“The indoor centre would help to position Geelong as a destination for major indoor sporting events and could potentially provide the ideal venue for gymnastics and table tennis at the Commonwealth Games,” he said in April.