Rival codes battle for foothold in western corridor growth area
Chris Garry
The Sunday Mail (Qld)
March 11, 2012 12:00AM
Date/Time: 2012:03:10 15:00:10 Source: The Courier-Mail
BRISBANE'S western corridor is shaping as the new epicentre for code expansion, as rival sports fight for the allegiance of the growth area's endless supply of young families.
The Sunday Mail can today reveal details of the battle for Brisbane's west and the bold business plan that has the Western Corridor's NRL bid primed for acceptance, including team name, jersey design and future stadium.
The NRL are not the only organisation desperate to leave their footprints in the area with the Brisbane Lions and the AFL separately planning a potential move west.
On average five families move to the western corridor every day.
The region encapsulates Logan, Ipswich, Springfield and the Darling Downs.
Ipswich City's current population is 170,000 but the State Government forecasts it will grow to 435,000 by 2031, add in the booms in Springfield and Logan and you have a population rocketing towards one million within 20 years.
This enormous hub of young, flat screen television-watching families is one of the reasons why Channel 9 executives are privately backing bid manager Steve Johnson's grand plans for an NRL team.
Channel 9 and Channel 10 are both desperate for another game out of Suncorp Stadium each week.
But the Lions have their own ambitions to ensure the corridor does not become league dominated.
Their goal centres on a parcel of real estate in Springfield that Johnson's team also needs to deliver their vision.
The Lions want to set up a state of the art training facility, 10,000-seat boutique stadium and youth academy in Springfield, a city set for a population of 105,000 within 15 years.
However, Johnson and his bid co-ordinator Brian Canavan have also drawn plans for headquarters on the exact piece of land the Lions have targeted.
The Lions base will be ready for the 2016 season, while the ARL Commission are likely to set 2015 as the year for NRL expansion meaning league could get first dibs.
Johnson, who regards Gold Coast Suns player Karmichael Hunt as a traitor "who should never be allowed back in rugby league", said the game could not let AFL convert the region's league-loving youth.
"We both want the same land for a similar facility, I just hope rugby league officials allow us to fight them for it," Johnson said.
"We will be working on this bid until we get a licence, even if it's in 2020 we will still be here, still committed, because our plan will see rugby league provide life paths for young kids.
"The game cannot afford to lose this region."
The Lions' Springfield facility would host AFLQ finals games and government funding may end up dictating the rival codes share the site. AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou said this week his code was not at war with the NRL, despite spending millions of dollars in establishing GWS Giants in Sydney's west complete with league pin-up Israel Folau, who was raised in Ipswich.
Lions CEO Michael Holmes repeated Demetriou's mantra and said his club were not at war with the western corridor.
"I simply want more people playing sport. As an AFL man I hope that these kids take up AFL," he said.
"We are considering a handful of expressions of interest for the facility and Springfield is among those. We want this base to serve us for thirty years plus. It's a critical piece in our strategy."
