Cricket at Metricon stadium

CQSUN

Team Captain
Aug 2, 2012
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METRICON Stadium could host a first-class game of cricket as early as next summer.
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/04/09/449989_gold-coast-news.html

How do people feel about this?
What affect will it have on the SUNS both from a financial pint of view and a 'facilities' point of view?

Personally im all for it, gets the SUNS some much needed nation wide advertising just as long as we are able to get a bit of pre season in on the main field and it remains in top nick.:thumbsu:
 

Dammit

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Mar 20, 2010
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I reckon it'd be a great idea. It'd be an absolute cash cow - especially if as someone else mentioned there was a T20 side based out of there.
I've never been, but what are the surrounding areas like? Could you hold events like the Big Day Out there too?
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 12, 2007
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Is it 100%?
Whatever it is, the Suns clearly make money from it and want it to happen. This has been on the cards for a while now but it has taken until 2013 for them to put a realistic proposal towards the Brisbane Heat. The ideal situation is to have a Twenty20 team that plays in December/January which doesn't disturb any of the Suns pre-season matches. I remember reading an article not long ago that stated the Suns needed to have more musical concerts and cricket games for them to be profitable with their stadium.

Hopefully the Brisbane Heat schedule a game here in December and they start a Gold Coast expansion team the following season. Wouldn't mind some more concerts here too like the Foo Fighters one that pulled a crowd of 38k.
 

Dammit

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as long as there aren't any main issues with the cricket pitch in the middle (drop in maybe?), then i'm for it. would love to go watch the cricket at metricon. more concerts too! anything that gets us more money, to upgrade our shitty sheds into top class facilities.
It'd have to be drop-in you'd reckon?
 

Herbs

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Jul 6, 2006
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Domestic one day and 20/20 games would look better at Metricon than at a half full Gabba IMO. Make it happen.
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 12, 2007
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Interestingly, Carrara has a bit of a history with Cricket. It was first used on 22 October 1985 when the Queensland Country team took on the New Zealand national team. It wasn't until after Christopher Skase redeveloped the ground for the Bears that Cricket began to be played more seriously. In 1989 the Queensland state team took on a Queensland squad team.

Probably the most famous Cricket match played at Carrara was contested on 19 January 1991 when the Queensland state team hosted the England national team. The last cricket match at Carrara occured on 1 January 1992 when Queensland played the West Indies national team. So there you have it, both the Bears and Cricket Queensland gave up on Carrara in 1992.

According to this article the Gold Coast City Council had plans for the stadium to host cricket matches even before the Suns got the green light to enter the AFL. It also would appear from the article that if it weren't for the Suns, Carrara Stadium would have been used for Soccer. I know Gold Coast Soccer is based right next to Carrara Stadium but does anyone know what the future will be for them? Safe to presume they'll be moved for the Commonwealth Games. Probably a similar situation with Gold Coast Basketball once the Carrara Indoor Arena gets knocked down.
 

AirOnBroadbeach

Draftee
Apr 22, 2013
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8
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Probably the most famous Cricket match played at Carrara was contested on 19 January 1991 when the Queensland state team hosted the England national team.

If I recall correctly this is the match where David Gower hired a Tiger Moth from the nearby Surfers Paradise Raceway (now a housing estate) and buzzed the field.
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 12, 2007
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If I recall correctly this is the match where David Gower hired a Tiger Moth from the nearby Surfers Paradise Raceway (now a housing estate) and buzzed the field.
That is correct. Got the maximum fine for it too. Supposedly he was planning to drop water bombs on the field but didn't end up following through.
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 12, 2007
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http://www.3aw.com.au/news/big-bash...mix-for-future-franchise-20141222-12cgh9.html

Big Bash League CEO Mike McKenna says any new franchise is likely to come from a large regional centre.

Geelong, Canberra and Gold Coast have all expressed interest in fielding a side in the Twenty20 league in future and McKenna said the competition would likely go regional, before placing another team in a capital city.

McKenna said plenty of places were mounting a strong case.

"Geelong has made a really strong case and shown a great deal of interest and is really well organised, but so is Canberra and we've also had a lot of interest from people on the Gold Coast as well," he told Sports Today.

"I've also been to talk to people in Far North Queensland from the very first year of competition who have shown interest, as well.

"No doubt there's interest and there sure is a market but the question is when is the right time to do it and when are we best placed that we'd be adding value to the completion, not taking away from it?"

McKenna was quick to point out that adding another team wasn't at the top of the competition's agenda but said creating a ninth franchise was always in the back of organisers' minds.

"We're not actively looking at the moment," he said.

"It's in the back of our minds, but we've got to really make sure is that what we're doing right now is working.

"We've also got to make sure we've got enough talent to make sure the competition is attractive with the quality of players.

"We don't want to diminish that by having extra teams coming in too soon."

The new world class training facilities at Carrara might just get the Gold Coast over the line in securing a BBL franchise. It'd certainly be a great thing for the city to have something to follow over the summer months.
 
Oct 24, 2008
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http://www.3aw.com.au/news/big-bash...mix-for-future-franchise-20141222-12cgh9.html



The new world class training facilities at Carrara might just get the Gold Coast over the line in securing a BBL franchise. It'd certainly be a great thing for the city to have something to follow over the summer months.

lets hope this becomes a reality, sounds like we might be behind Geelong and Canberra at the moment, but if I was a player and had the choice of Geelong, Canberra and the GC I know which one I would pick.
 
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