AFL Barwon has confirmed that the 2025 Blood Toyota Geelong Football Netball League (GFNL) Grand Finals will once again be held at GMHBA Stadium at Kardinia Park.
This decision reinforces a shared commitment to providing a high-quality experience for participants, supporters, and the wider Barwon community, and comes off the back of strong collaboration between AFL Barwon, the Geelong Cats, and the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust (KPST). Together, the three organisations have worked through key operational and financial considerations, to ensure the return of the Grand Final to GMHBA Stadium is both achievable and sustainable.
The 2024 Blood Toyota GFNL Grand Final Day attracted more than 10,000 attendees to GMHBA Stadium, with an additional 10,000-plus viewers tuning in via live stream. This strong community engagement highlighted the broad appeal of the region’s premier football and netball competitions and reinforced the need for a venue capable of accommodating a crowd of this scale, both in terms of capacity and supporting infrastructure such as parking and event operations.
This year’s event will once again take place on the AFL Grand Final Eve public holiday Friday, 26 September giving families, friends, and fans an opportunity to attend this marquee community event.
AFL Barwon Commission Chair, Michelle Gerdtz said the return of the grand finals to GMHBA Stadium followed a comprehensive review of the 2024 event, including a detailed analysis and logistical evaluation.
“While last year’s Grand Finals were a major success, it also highlighted some key challenges that we needed to address in order to proceed”.
“We have undertaken thorough due diligence, working closely with the Geelong Cats and Kardinia Park Stadium Trust to develop a sustainable model for 2025. The event simply wouldn’t be viable without their continued support and the valued contribution of commercial partners.”
“We’re appreciative to all involved for recognising the importance of delivering a high-quality finals experience for our community.”
Geelong Cats Chief Operating Officer Marcus King expressed his excitement about the return of community football and netball to Kardinia Park.
“We are thrilled to see the GFNL Grand Finals return to GMHBA Stadium in 2025. The Kardinia Park precinct plays host to a number of major sporting and entertainment events for the region and along with Kardinia Park Stadium Trust and AFL Barwon, we’re looking forward to seeing marquee community football and netball take centre stage in the precinct in September.”
Kardinia Park Stadium Trust CEO Gerard Griffin also welcomed the return of the event to the precinct.
“KPST is delighted to welcome back the local Geelong Football Netball League Grand Finals at GMHBA Stadium in 2025. It has been fantastic to see the collaboration between our organisations to make this event happen again this year, and to ensure these flagship community sport events remain within the Kardinia Park Precinct.”
All three partners, along with the City of Greater Geelong, are committed to enhancing the experience for clubs, players, and the broader community. Thanks also goes to Force Response Security & Miepol for their valued support of this event.
AFL Barwon extended their thanks to the Geelong Cats and Kardinia Park Stadium Trust for their continued support in elevating community football and netball in the region and believe this will be a wonderful experience for the greater community and broader AFL Barwon stakeholders.
