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  1. #1
    Titans Captain Grimmace's Avatar
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    Default Gold Coast Stadium to shed its white elephant tag

    Gold Coast Stadium to shed its white elephant tag
    Pat McLeod

    14Nov06

    THE Gold Coast's $900,000-a-year 'white elephant', Gold Coast Stadium Carrara, is about to become one of the nation's busiest venues for elite sport.

    The Gold Coast Bulletin yesterday obtained details of the stadium's proposed commitments for 2007, which include a smorgasbord of national and international sport.

    Aside from the excitement surrounding the Titans' debut season in the National Rugby League being played out of Carrara, Gold Coast Stadium is also set to host AFL competition games, the Queensland Reds team, and in an unexpected bonanza, possibly three Socceroos clashes.

    "Next year is looking very exciting," said the Gold Coast City Council's Tony Beynon, the man in charge of the Carrara venue.

    So far Beynon's 2007 Carrara calendar includes:

    * 11 Titans home games (not including the first-round clash against St George Illawarra at Suncorp Stadium) and one trial game on March 3 against Penrith;

    * Three North Melbourne AFL games (April 21, May 19, June 16) and two pre-season matches (February 23 and March 10);

    * At least two Queensland Reds rugby union games (against Samoa on January 20 and the New Zealand Super 14 team the Highlanders on January 26). Carrara has also come back into contention as a venue for the National Rugby Competition, which will kick off in August, 2007;

    * Gold Coast Stadium is also on the short list to host three Socceroos games in 2007. Few details have been cemented, but the games will be against Chinese Taipei, Jordan/Kyrgyzstan and Saudia Arabia.

    Beynon said the emergence of the Socceroos matches indicated that Carrara was far from a spent force as an elite stadium.

    "People have been referring to Gold Coast Stadium as a white elephant but while we have not been hosting major events there consistently in recent years, there has been plenty of action there," he said.

    In fact 2007 will be a case of 'back to the future'.

    Although Gold Coast Stadium has been mostly devoid of star-studded appearances in recent years, in the decade from 1987 Carrara hosted national Aussie rules, rugby league, rugby union, basketball and baseball games and even a four-day cricket clash between England and Queensland.

    Beynon said lower-tier sports would also continue to use the facility with AFL Queensland already booked in for 24 separate dates next year.

    The city council's manager for community venues and projects also emphasised that Carrara would cope with the increased workload in 2007.

    A total of $3 million has already been spent on the venue and another $400,000 is expected to be poured in, which may include renewing all the stadium's plastic seating.

    The annual cost of the up-keep of Carrara stadium is about $900,000.

    Carrara's biggest headache, traffic congestion, is also at the centre of a think-tank this week, although Beynon said many of the car park snarls had been eased.

    The capacity of Gold Coast Stadium is about 16,500. This will increase to 19,000 with the inclusion of temporary seating along the eastern sideline for Titans matches.
    Source: GC Bulletin

  2. #2
    Titan First Grade Regular Eel 33's Avatar
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    Default

    Hopefully the surface holds up. We dont want it looking like sandtrap (suncorp) or a badly patched up Telstra stadium.


    Thanx to Steelers for the handywork!!!

  3. #3
    QLD Cup Titan bigjim's Avatar
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    Default

    What happens in 2008, though.
    Back to being a white elephant :hmm:

  4. #4

    Default

    once Robina is done, i'd bring in the Dozers !


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