Gold Coast bid boost - Council to underwrite stadium?
April 20, 2005
THE prospect of a Gold Coast franchise returning to the NRL gained further momentum today with the local council set to discuss the possibility of footing the entire bill for a new stadium.
A lack of suitable venues for the club to base themselves had been the only stumbling block in the Gold Coast consortium's bid for a team licence with the NRL insisting they play out of a rectangular arena.
But their chances of breaking into the competition by 2007 appear to have improved dramatically with Gold Coast mayor Ron Clarke declaring a desperate need to break the "stalemate" with the NRL.
"Whatever happens we have to break the nexus of the NRL saying 'providing you can provide a stadium we'll give you a licence' and we're saying 'providing you give us a licence we can finance a stadium'," Mr Clarke said.
"That's why we're going around in circles at the moment and I want to break that nexus so I've asked the (Gold Coast) CEO (Dale Dickson) to put in a proposal for the council to discuss and take matters into their own hands."
The Gold Coast City Council (GCCC) had previously committed $6 million to the project but the cost of either redeveloping Carrara Stadium or building a new ground at Robina is expected to be at least 10 times that amount.
Cr Clarke, a former Australian middle distance runner who won a bronze medal at the 1964 Olympics, said he was confident of gaining the green light from the council providing the potential outweighs the risk.
"I'll have to see the figures first but if the figures are right, then yes I believe the council have the wear with all to be able to underwrite the proposal," he said.
The council is set to convene on April 29 to discuss the matter less than two weeks out from an expected decision regarding possible expansion by the NRL.
Wellington and the Central Coast remain in the hunt for the competition's 16th team licence but it's the Gold Coast bid which is making all the noise at the moment.
Despite losing its Dolphins moniker earlier this month, Gold Coast academy head and former Penrith premiership winning lock Scott Sattler says the club is ready to go.
"If we did get the nod then 2007 would be the obvious year and we'd be able to start full-scale operations the day after they name it," Sattler said.
"Everything's in place, we're just sitting in the garage waiting to kick the car over and take off."
Sattler has played a pivotal role in trying to get the club off the ground and even organised travel arrangements for the New Zealand team that based themselves on the tourist strip ahead of Friday's Test against Australia.
The Gold Coast consortium has already played host to two trial matches, the Australian and New Zealand rugby league teams, the Footy Show and is organising an NRL clash between North Queensland and premiers the Bulldogs.
