Carrara upgrade to boost NRL push

Austadiums • Wednesday 3rd March 2004

A Gold Coast push to become the 16th National Rugby League team has been backed by a pledge by mayoral candidate Ron Clarke to upgrade Carrara Stadium.

Clarke, the former champion distance runner standing for mayor in the March 27 Gold Coast City council election, said today Carrara could be redeveloped to accommodate 40,000 fans, double the current capacity.

He said he had spoken to leading architect Daryl Jackson, designer of grandstands at the Gabba, the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Perth's Subiaco Oval, and plans had been developed to turn Carrara into one of Australia's top football grounds.

Clarke said the redevelopment would be "at no cost to our ratepayers or the state government beyond their current commitments".

More than 18,000 people attended last weekend's NRL trial between the Bulldogs and St George Illawarra at Carrara.

Clarke said the Gold Coast was the significant market in Australia without a team in either rugby code.

"We have a larger resident population than Canberra, not including the 50,000 to 100,000 tourists visiting at any one time," he said.

Former Gold Coast Chargers CEO Paul Broughton is heading the latest bid to get a team into the major rugby league competition.

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A Gold Coast push to become the 16th National Rugby League team has been backed by a pledge by mayoral candidate Ron Clarke to upgrade Carrara Stadium.
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