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Kardinia Park (GMHBA Stadium)
How We Secured Kardinia Park (GMHBA Stadium) Before Game Day
Kardinia Park (GMHBA Stadium), a cherished landmark within the Geelong community and the home ground of the Geelong Cats AFL Football Team, joined forces with Barrier Group to enhance crowd safety and accessibility. In a unique project, in partnership with our Product Solutions Team, we crafted a safety handrail solution that offers footy fans a better viewing experience ahead of the Geelong Cats' first AFL game of the season!
About Kardinia Park (GMHBA Stadium)
Kardinia Park, also known as GMHBA Stadium, is a sports and entertainment arena with a capacity of 40,000 seats in Geelong, Australia. It is home to the Geelong Cats AFL Football Team. Since its inauguration in 1941, the stadium has been embraced by a dedicated local fanbase. Notably, it is the largest sports venue in Australia outside a major capital city, reflecting Geelong's love for its AFL team!
With the stadium's expansion and an increasing number of Geelong supporters attending to cheer for their home team, the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust identified a chance to enhance crowd safety and accessibility, ensuring their dedicated fans can navigate the stadium securely and efficiently.
- Location: Kardinia Park (GMHBA Stadium)
- Complete: March 2025
- Visit: https://www.kardiniapark.vic.gov.au
The Problem
The Solution
Working alongside Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, Accura Co., and Plan Group, the project involved installing 79 Barrier Group Hoop Bollards & Fixings. These would be customised to fit the dimensions of Kardinia Park's staircases, serving as handrails to facilitate pedestrian movement up and down the stairs. These Hoop Bollards would also be hot dip galvanised to add a layer of protection when the arena’s external elements become undesirable.
The Challenges
Geelong Cat's Season Opener
Given that there was a tight timeframe between when the project started and when the Geelong Cat's AFL Season Opener was set to take place, Barrier Group continually communicated and collaborated with Kardinia Park Stadium Trust and Plan Group to ensure that the custom bollard project stayed on schedule via their dedicated account manager.
The project also required careful planning to allow for lead times, such as time for the custom Hoop Bollards to be galvanised, as well as any required reviews and certifications before Geelong Cat's AFL Season Opener.
Custom Fabrication
The Custom Hoop Bollards and Fixings needed extra in-house modifications by our Custom Fabrication Team to guarantee that stadium attendees could safely grip the bollard when it was used as a handrail. To achieve this, any sharp edges were eliminated from the Hoop Bollards to ensure complete safety.
Drilling
During installation, Barrier Group encountered an unexpected issue when drilling into the existing concrete staircase for the hoop bollards. Unexpectedly, they hit metal, necessitating longer drill bits. Despite this minor obstacle, the expert installation team successfully completed the installation, demonstrating their ability to adapt efficiently to and overcome unforeseen issues.
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