East Coast Tiger
Coach
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Michael Searle and Paul Broughton have been merged into one person perhaps to save costs.
Gold Coast is just a terrible sporting region, a plastic community that jumps off bandwagons quicker than anywhere.
I doubt there is too much to this article, but still.
I cant believe a few choice posters love to bag the Bears efforts in community engagement as much as possible when the Gold Coast are a clear example of what happens when you put a team somewhere and expect it to become loved off the bat, they've struggled to engage with their surrounds from day one.
Gold Coast is just a terrible sporting region, a plastic community that jumps off bandwagons quicker than anywhere.
I doubt there is too much to this article, but still.
I cant believe a few choice posters love to bag the Bears efforts in community engagement as much as possible when the Gold Coast are a clear example of what happens when you put a team somewhere and expect it to become loved off the bat, they've struggled to engage with their surrounds from day one.
Time to bring back this guy:
He'll sort it all out...
I have no issue with the Gold Coast taking 1-2 of their least crowd pulling games to PNG or them selling a portion of their club to anyone. IMO more teams should looking to take games that aren't traditional crowd pullers to other regions eg Darwin, Adelaide, Perth or Wellington.
That said Michael Searle's halo has definitely slipped and the centre of mediocrity better be worth the $$$$$$$. His role in their stadium deal also has to be questioned
At the heart of the matter is a deal the AFL has with the Queensland Government, which helped fund the upgrade of the Gabba when the Brisbane Bears relocated from Carrara.
To recoup costs, the deal stipulates any second team in South-East Queensland must play their home fixtures at the ground until 2015. Even second dressing rooms were built in lieu of corporate facilities to accommodate a team other than the Lions.
THE will host their first Queensland derby at Metricon Stadium next season with the State Government set to tear up an agreement that matches against the Lions be played at the Gabba for the next five years.
The Suns' home game against Brisbane in round 17, the second scheduled Q-Clash meeting between the two sides in 2012, will now be played at Metricon Stadium on Saturday, July 21, in the new twilight timeslot starting at 4.40pm.
It sets the stage for a mega weekend of footy on the Gold Coast with the NRL also hosting a derby between the Brisbane Broncos and the Titans at Skilled Park that round.
The Courier-Mail has learned the Government intends to announce the new agreement this week, possibly as soon as today.
If the game is a success, it is anticipated the five-year deal will be completely discarded from 2013 onwards and the Suns and Lions will each host one derby every season.
However, it is believed the Suns are likely to agree to a clause that allows their home games to be switched back to the Gabba in the future if the bi-annual fixture grows in popularity to such an extent that Metricon Stadium, which holds only 25,000 people, sells out and fans are turned away.
What makes it such a windfall for the AFL's newest club is the fact that they have a "clean" stadium, which means they have sole management rights of the venue.
Any income generated, such as signage and food and beverage sales, goes into club coffers.
The Suns can also hire out the venue in summer to cricket or as a concert venue.
Unlike other AFL arenas with naming-rights sponsors, such as Etihad Stadium, Patersons Stadium in Perth and AAMI Stadium in Adelaide, the Suns do not have to share the income.
It gives the Suns a significant advantage over cross-town rivals the Titans, who are not direct beneficiaries of the income from the naming-rights contract at Skilled Park.
Canberra is one match that could be relocated I guess. Canberra have never drawn well up here.If its an odd match every year, you could think of shittier ideas.
Time to bring back this guy:
He'll sort it all out...
Cutting your nose to spite your face. It's been just 4 years on the Gold Coast. Crowds are struggling, you're not really bonding with your community very well. So what do you do? Sell part of yourself for the right to partially relocate. Awful awful awful strategic move for the Titans themselves and especially the NRL as a whole.
Strange days indeed...
Titans clarify position on PNG
Adam Gardini
16/11/2011 5:06:45 PM
The Jetstar Gold Coast Titans wish to clarify that whilst there have been discussions about Papua New Guinea becoming aligned to the Titans in a number of different ways, the club has not entered into ‘sell-off talks’ with the PNG consortium and will not be transferring home games to PNG as reported in media outlets today.
Jetstar Titans Managing Director Michael Searle said the club had been approached by the PNG consortium earlier this year to seek advice on various aspects of their push to join the NRL but no formal agreement had been reached.
“The reality is some nine months ago we were approached by a PNG consortium who identified the Titans as a dynamic and successful best-practice model for PNG’s aspirations of eventually entering the NRL,’’ said Searle.
“They felt they could learn from our experience about successful player recruitment, performance and commercial viability whilst continuing to achieve our objectives in the community around Health, Education, Training and Employment
“They have since put forward various proposals on the table for discussion, including talent exchange programmes, social delivery of key messages around education and employment and a potential equity investment but we have not yet determined how best we can assist PNG’s goals in this space.
“One thing is for sure, the Titans are a Gold Coast team, and will always remain that, regardless of whether we agree to any link to PNG.
“We’ll definitely continue to encourage and assist any initiative to involve PNG in the NRL, however, the club’s stakeholders will not be selling any of their equity in the club.”
The Jetstar Titans will make no further comment on the issue.