For the 400th time:
Population
Gold Coast dwarfs Central coast no question. It is the 6th largest city in the country. It is now (wasnt when it was last in the NRL) larger than Newcastle. if the knights go bust and fall over, does anyone really think that the CC should get in before a Newcastle side? Of course not. The Central coast is barely large enough to support a side. It is just bigger than Townsville, but the residents have 40 times the sporting options as the Townsville residents.
Supporters
CC obviously has long term potential, in the same way that Penrith has in the last 4 or 5 years cemented their place in the community. this took 25 years for the team to gain long term acceptance because when they came in people in the area already had their own teams and could drive train or bus to watch them without too much trouble. Eventually the youth grew up and after a couple of premierships (they had poor crowds after the first premiership) the panthers are now established and drawing good crowds. CC have the same problem. Everyone in the area has their own team within an hour or an hour and a half drive. I am not sure what role NS fans will play in the venture but it seems as if the majority have moved on to support another team in the NRL and may not travel. I would have thought that an average of 1000 NS loyalists would travel each week, but i could be wrong. What crowds to the bears get at the moment?
Gold Coast will draw fans from a number of sources. Residents make up the majority obviously. Being a one team city, there is an immediate bond with the whole city. CC will have the same but the city is a lot smaller and the residents do not have the option of attending other teams games like CC. Also, GC will steal the Anti Brisbane sentiment (which wasnt really around at their previous incarnation they may have done something in their last season or two but the team was such a joke they never really had a chance)
CROWDS
To be honest, both GC and CC crowds are similar and neither are as spectacular as they seem. Perth, Wellington, Melbourne, Adelaide and Christchurch have all been capable of pulling 20000 crowds to one or two games. The crowds drop off when more games are played and when the form is poor. I personally think the GC crowds over the last couple of years are slightly better but truthfully, it is a draw in this area.
Corporate support
The GC is a huge corporate city. The country's tourism capitalism and a business sector as large (or larger than) Newcastle, Canberra, Perth or Adelaide. All four of these cities could support a professional sporting team, without question. GC is no different. CC is an awful lot smaller, but they probably can tap into the Sydney (particularly northern Sydney market) which although overcrowded would probably support a team provided it is managed properly. Singleton is also a short term advantage (although his previous rugby league failures say otherwise). In reality noone has any idea which bid wins here both could succeed if managed properly so it would have to be a draw.
Media
Understated by both sides on TFR. But GC has their own radio station and Free to Air TV station and a newspaper which pretty much outsells the Brisbane Based Courier Mail on the coast (i think). In any case, GC would be the no 2 team in the CM so they would get massive coverage in it too. Both would be 100% behind the team with news items and TV broadcasts of games. CC I presume has its own radio stations. I dont think it has its TV station to itself and am not sure of the newspaper bids. It would be good if the CC residents could explain the media situation. They will get limited coverage in the Sydney papers because there are so many other Sydney teams and i presume CC residents would rely on Sydney papers quite heavily. It seems to me that GC have the advantage here, and imo it is a big advantage, maybe the biggest.
Juniours
Both are rich junior areas with a strong rugby league area. You can argue which is stronger all day but it will never be more than personal opinion. Draw
Stadium
CC have a fantastic stadium. GC have a good stadium (Carrara) with first class lighting. It needs more covered seats and has some other minor problems. but at the end of the day, a stadium doesnt really bring in the fans for anything other than novelty value which wears off. ANZ got bigger Broncos crowds than Lang Park ever has or will and that isnt as good a stadium. GC also have the promise of a new stadium which is an awful lot more likely than CC fans want. cc probably have a slight advantage in this area (as opposed to a draw) but it is very minor and in the wash up means the least of all criteria.
All in all, CC have a very good bid, but it just isnt as good as the Gold Coast bid.The longer the CC bid is delayed, the better their case gets. But at the moment, they are too far behind the GC bid to make that ground up. Their only reasonable hope is for more than one side to be let in.
