TITAN PETE
26-03-12, 10:11 AM
Shannon Willoughby and Matt Killoran | 12:01am March 26, 2012
THE city's heaviest hitters have united in calls for the Gold Coast to rally around its embattled rugby league team and remain Titans Town.
Supporters have been rocked by revelations the Gold Coast Titans need $2.5 million from the NRL to stay afloat.
Gold Coast Airport boss Paul Donovan said the city needed to get behind the team.
"The Titans have been great for the Gold Coast in many ways. It has added more than a football team. It has been a family for a lot of the players," he said.
"It really is time to stop the criticisms and get behind our team and show them some support."
He said that support could start from the bottom up, with locals making an effort to attend home games.
He also appealed to the business community to back the side and its boss Michael Searle, who put everything on the line to form the Titans, by taking sponsorship boxes.
"The team needs a strong board that can help Michael make the tough decisions," Mr Donovan said.
He also said the team should look at offloading its Centre of Excellence, which has been at the centre of its financial woes for months.
Business leader and chairman of the Gold Coast Suns AFL team, John Witheriff, said he had telephoned Mr Searle and offered his support and he encouraged the broader community to follow.
"This is clearly an issue with a property interest. We should all be pushing for a solution which is in the best interests for the NRL and the broader Gold Coast community," he said.
"We have got to come up with a solution."
He said the community could support the team by going to a game.
"If the Gold Coast community stands up and heads to a game, it gives the NRL a compelling reason to support it and see it survive."
Ray White Surfers Paradise boss Andrew Bell said fans needed to send the NRL a strong message that they would back the club.
"If they want to expand the code, now we have the (AFL) Suns here, it's not the time to abandon them and leave them to their own (devices)," he said.
"The answer is for the NRL to get involved.
"I'm sure the team can come through this even stronger than before but we have to get fully behind them."
A Jetstar spokesman said the airline -- a major sponsor of the Titans -- would continue to support the team until at least the end of the season, when the sponsorship contract runs out.
"Jetstar has supported the club since its inauguration," he said.
Martin Winter, the boss of Gold Coast Tourism, said it was important for the city to be represented in all codes of football.
"We would fully support any action which would ensure both the Titans and the Gold Coast Football Club remain on the Gold Coast," he said.
THE city's heaviest hitters have united in calls for the Gold Coast to rally around its embattled rugby league team and remain Titans Town.
Supporters have been rocked by revelations the Gold Coast Titans need $2.5 million from the NRL to stay afloat.
Gold Coast Airport boss Paul Donovan said the city needed to get behind the team.
"The Titans have been great for the Gold Coast in many ways. It has added more than a football team. It has been a family for a lot of the players," he said.
"It really is time to stop the criticisms and get behind our team and show them some support."
He said that support could start from the bottom up, with locals making an effort to attend home games.
He also appealed to the business community to back the side and its boss Michael Searle, who put everything on the line to form the Titans, by taking sponsorship boxes.
"The team needs a strong board that can help Michael make the tough decisions," Mr Donovan said.
He also said the team should look at offloading its Centre of Excellence, which has been at the centre of its financial woes for months.
Business leader and chairman of the Gold Coast Suns AFL team, John Witheriff, said he had telephoned Mr Searle and offered his support and he encouraged the broader community to follow.
"This is clearly an issue with a property interest. We should all be pushing for a solution which is in the best interests for the NRL and the broader Gold Coast community," he said.
"We have got to come up with a solution."
He said the community could support the team by going to a game.
"If the Gold Coast community stands up and heads to a game, it gives the NRL a compelling reason to support it and see it survive."
Ray White Surfers Paradise boss Andrew Bell said fans needed to send the NRL a strong message that they would back the club.
"If they want to expand the code, now we have the (AFL) Suns here, it's not the time to abandon them and leave them to their own (devices)," he said.
"The answer is for the NRL to get involved.
"I'm sure the team can come through this even stronger than before but we have to get fully behind them."
A Jetstar spokesman said the airline -- a major sponsor of the Titans -- would continue to support the team until at least the end of the season, when the sponsorship contract runs out.
"Jetstar has supported the club since its inauguration," he said.
Martin Winter, the boss of Gold Coast Tourism, said it was important for the city to be represented in all codes of football.
"We would fully support any action which would ensure both the Titans and the Gold Coast Football Club remain on the Gold Coast," he said.