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Melbourne Victory’s Asian Champions League qualifier against Thai team Muangthong United on Saturday made history as Melbourne Victory’s first competitive fixture at Geelong’s Simonds Stadium.
Although it was due to a Bruce Springsteen concert held at AAMI Park and the NAB Challenge at Etihad Stadium (although there was no game on) that forced the Victory to move the qualifier to Geelong, the crowd that turned out on Saturday, 8,304 to be precise, should be noted by the Victory board and the FFA.
Although Simonds Stadium holds 34,000, note that the games that Melbourne Victory took to Tasmania over the last two seasons only got 5,268 and 6,238 to Aurora Stadium in Launceston.
Yes, the crowds were small, but keep in mind that these games were held in another state.
Melbourne Victory, along with the FFA, should at least look at the feasibility of hosting one regular season home game per year in Geelong, against teams that the Victory don’t consider major rivals (e.g. Wellington).
Melbourne Heart have played home games in Albury and Morwell, Newcastle have played a home game at Bathurst and the Victory, as noted previously, have played home games in Launceston.
I hope that the Victory can negotiate a deal with the FFA and the Geelong local council to bring one regular season game per season to Victoria’s second biggest city, because it would be a shame if the Asian Champions League qualifier turns out to be the only competitive football fixture Victory have played in Geelong.
The crowd, although small, should be seen as encouraging for the growth of football in Victoria, and a regular season A-League game in Geelong would give football in regional Victoria a welcome shot in the arm.
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