Kardinia Park 5.18

Kardinia Park is a sporting and entertainment venue located within Kardinia Park, South Geelong, Victoria. The stadium, which is owned and operated by the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust, is the home ground of the Geelong Football Club. The capacity of Kardinia Park is 34,000, making it the largest capacity Australian stadium in a regional city .Australian rules footballEarly yearsFootball has been played on Kardinia Park since the 19th century, and prior to the 1940s, Kardinia Park was the secondary football venue in the city of Geelong; Corio Oval was the primary venue, and the Geelong Football Club played its Victorian Football League games at that venue until 1940. Kardinia Park served as the home ground for the Geelong (A.) Football Club in the Victorian Football Association from 1922 until 1925, before that club moved to the Western Oval in Geelong West; local and district football was played regularly on the ground.The Geelong Football Club began playing its home games at Kardinia Park in 1941 after Corio Oval was commandeered by the military during World War II, and it became its permanent home venue thereafter.Recent historyOn 23 May 2002, Kardinia Park hosted a visit from the Dalai Lama, who again visited the stadium in June 2007.