GMHBA Stadium becomes Australia’s first Sensory Inclusive Stadium

As part of its goal to make Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium an inclusive and accessible stadium for all, the Kardinia Park Stadium Trust has progressively undertaken a range of initiatives to make attending the venue a safe, comfortable and positive experience for all.

An an online update from last week, the Trust advises “you will find GMHBA Stadium to be a user-friendly building with a customer service team that is trained to understand how to accommodate your needs.

“We have many amenities available throughout the Stadium to assist with a range of needs, including disabled parking, wheelchair accessible seating and parent’s change rooms. There is also Braille signage and hearing loops throughout the Stadium to assist vision and hearing impaired visitors.”

GMHBA Stadium also has specialised toilet facilities (located in the Brownlow Stand) in the form of Changing Places, which provides a full size change table and hoist to meet the needs of people with severe and profound disabilities.

The Trust has also recently partnered with the Geelong Cats and US non-profit organisation KultureCity to become Australia’s first Sensory Inclusive Stadium. The initiative aims to make GMHBA Stadium an inclusive experience for every guest and improve its ability to assist and accommodate guests with challenges in processing sensory information.

The Trust add “by supplying our staff, customer service and security members with training and offering resources to our guests, such as a designated Sensory Room and Sensory Backpacks, we hope to provide an inclusive and safe experience for every visitor to the Stadium.”

The Sensory Room will officially launch for the AFL round six match, while a dedicated quiet room in the Deakin Cats Community Centre (ground level, Players Stand) and Sensory Backpacks will be available for AFL round two and four matches.

Sensory Backpacks include fidget toys, noise cancelling headphones as well as a number of other resources, and are available for checkout at no cost by leaving an ID at the Geelong Cats Welcome desk (ground floor, Brownlow Stand) and Deakin Cats Community Centre.

Click here for more information about the Sensory Inclusive Stadium initiative and a full list of amenities at GMHBA Stadium.