Home's a beaut, now for a name
Austadiums • Sunday 24th July 2005
It may not have a name, but the Gold Coast NRL side has a home from 2008.
The National Rugby League's newest team will be based at a $120 million stadium at Robina.
The Gold Coast City Council announced last week the stadium would be close to the highway, train station and a burgeoning commercial hub.
It was chosen over sites at Nerang and the existing facility at Carrarta.
Gold Coast managing director Michael Searle said selecting the right site was as important as being granted the NRL's 16th licence.
He said the location would justify the NRL's decision to expand.
While the stadium will not be ready until 2008, forcing the Gold Coast to play out of Carrara in 2007, Searle said it would be worth the wait.
"There's as much emotion tied to the decision on the stadium as there was with the decision about the 16th licence," Searle said.
"The council could not have picked a better location.
"It was important for our long-term future that the decision on the stadium was the correct one. I'm very happy to say that's what we've got.
"If you asked me where the best possible place for this stadium would be, I'd say Robina.
"It has everything you could ask for in respect to transport, accessibility and potential retail and hospitality opportunities. So we are very excited that we will get to call this stadium home.
"We want to give people from Brisbane to the (NSW) Northern Rivers a real experience when they come to our games and not just 80 minutes of football.
"It will be a state-of-the-art facility that will see people come for an event and make a real day or night of it."
Searle said he hoiped work would start before Christmas after the design and tendering process took place through the council and the State Government.
Searle said the stadium would ideally have 8000 seats either side with 4500 seats at the ends with the roof to cover 60 to 70 per cent of fans.
The club's administration staff will remain at Southport, while the coaching staff will be based at the club's training facilities at one of the Coast universities pr the Runaway Bay Sports Centre.
An audit will be conducted at Carrara in the near future to ensure it is up to scratch for the club's first full season in the NRL, even though the venue has hosted a series of trial matches over the past few years.
Meanwhile, the website poll to name the franchise has become a three-horse race with "Stingers" joining "Pirates" and "Titans" as the most likely nicknames.
Searle said the list of 10 names released on the club's website would be reduced to five on August 1, with "Marlins" and one other to make the short list.
Pirates and Titans were the frontrunners, but Searle said a significant push for Stingers has taken place this week.
Pirates is the most favoured name by a considerable margin.
Gold Coast has signed internationals Luke Bailey and Brian Carney as well as Dally M winner Preston Campbell and Wests Tigers back-rower Anthony Laffranchi for the 2007 season.
The club has made offers to a number of other players and is awaiting responses.
It hopes to have close to 10 players on its books by the end of the year.
The National Rugby League's newest team will be based at a $120 million stadium at Robina.
The Gold Coast City Council announced last week the stadium would be close to the highway, train station and a burgeoning commercial hub.
It was chosen over sites at Nerang and the existing facility at Carrarta.
Gold Coast managing director Michael Searle said selecting the right site was as important as being granted the NRL's 16th licence.
He said the location would justify the NRL's decision to expand.
While the stadium will not be ready until 2008, forcing the Gold Coast to play out of Carrara in 2007, Searle said it would be worth the wait.
"There's as much emotion tied to the decision on the stadium as there was with the decision about the 16th licence," Searle said.
"The council could not have picked a better location.
"It was important for our long-term future that the decision on the stadium was the correct one. I'm very happy to say that's what we've got.
"If you asked me where the best possible place for this stadium would be, I'd say Robina.
"It has everything you could ask for in respect to transport, accessibility and potential retail and hospitality opportunities. So we are very excited that we will get to call this stadium home.
"We want to give people from Brisbane to the (NSW) Northern Rivers a real experience when they come to our games and not just 80 minutes of football.
"It will be a state-of-the-art facility that will see people come for an event and make a real day or night of it."
Searle said he hoiped work would start before Christmas after the design and tendering process took place through the council and the State Government.
Searle said the stadium would ideally have 8000 seats either side with 4500 seats at the ends with the roof to cover 60 to 70 per cent of fans.
The club's administration staff will remain at Southport, while the coaching staff will be based at the club's training facilities at one of the Coast universities pr the Runaway Bay Sports Centre.
An audit will be conducted at Carrara in the near future to ensure it is up to scratch for the club's first full season in the NRL, even though the venue has hosted a series of trial matches over the past few years.
Meanwhile, the website poll to name the franchise has become a three-horse race with "Stingers" joining "Pirates" and "Titans" as the most likely nicknames.
Searle said the list of 10 names released on the club's website would be reduced to five on August 1, with "Marlins" and one other to make the short list.
Pirates and Titans were the frontrunners, but Searle said a significant push for Stingers has taken place this week.
Pirates is the most favoured name by a considerable margin.
Gold Coast has signed internationals Luke Bailey and Brian Carney as well as Dally M winner Preston Campbell and Wests Tigers back-rower Anthony Laffranchi for the 2007 season.
The club has made offers to a number of other players and is awaiting responses.
It hopes to have close to 10 players on its books by the end of the year.
