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Norm Smith Medallist
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I'm really hoping the parking issue is fixed soon, because I honestly think it's holding back attendance numbers. If you have to drive to the game, having to drive and THEN catch a bus is pretty pathetic.

In the meantime, though, there's a Park n Ride option that I'm thinking of taking for the Port game next month.

Can somebody who has used the Boowaggan Road Park 'n' Ride confirm that this is the area that's used? The big open area with pipes all over it? Just curious how big it is and how early to show up to get a park.

JSXzMBO.png


Cheers.
 

Demonoid

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I read this and as usual Caro is full of s**t, Auld will be head hunted I have no doubt about it but to say it is because he has great experience with the AFL's concerns around food pricing, transport, crowd building and the construction of new stadiums is a bit of a stretch
  • Food prices are as high at Metricn as at the MCG (and they actually ran out during the Pies game)
  • Transport is far from easy at Metricon (Buses work but be prepared to wait 20-30 mins to get on one)
  • Increased crowds (may have something to do with winning)
  • Stadium construction (I am pretty sure Travis didn't design or oversee construction at Metricon)
Don't get me wrong I rate our CEO, I think he has done a great job of creating a stable work place and setting a vision, my issue is more to do with Caro and the equating the 4 pillars above to Aulds genius. For a start they haven't been resolved at all. Get me to and from the stadium in the same millennium and then start patting people on the back.
Looks like Caro was right after all. Chip, shoulder?
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/travis-auld-to-join-mclachlans-executive-20140716-ztpyz.html
 

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Demonoid

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Did you read my post at all, it states that Auld WILL be head hunted

My point was about how Caro had credited Auld with fixing things that actually are NOT fixed. in fact each of my dot points highlights how each is still outstanding

So Demonoid foot, mouth
You said: "but to say it is because he has great experience with the AFL's concerns around food pricing, transport, crowd building and the construction of new stadiums is a bit of a stretch"
That's exactly why Gillon brought him over to the AFL.
 
Oct 24, 2008
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You said: "but to say it is because he has great experience with the AFL's concerns around food pricing, transport, crowd building and the construction of new stadiums is a bit of a stretch"
That's exactly why Gillon brought him over to the AFL.

Yes, I did say it was a stretch (because it is) and in my post I put forward 4 points as to why I thought it is a stretch, which was the entire premise of my post.

They were
  • Food prices are as high as the MCG (ISSUE NOT SOLVED)
  • Transport can take 20-30mins to get a Bus and there is minimal local parking (ISSUE NOT RESOLVED)
  • Crowds are lower than they were in 2011 (ISSUE IS NOT RESOLVED)
  • Stadium construction (unless Trav designed it I am unsure how he adds significant value in this area)

So CARO and now Gillon state that he is going to AFL house as an expert in the above areas, I would suggest that just because someone says Tom Cruise is a great actor, doesn't make it so and just because Gillon or Caro think Trav is an expert in these areas also doesn't make it true. In fact the evidence says he is not. I am sure he will do a great job and I rate him (as state in my original post) but if they are grabbing him on the basis of resolving the above issues they clearly haven't looked at the facts.

Now Demonoid I ask you are my 4 points incorrect? if not and they are the reasons given for Trav to move to AFL house is it not correct to say they are a stretch?

I hope this clears the issue up for you, perhaps reading an entire post before you tell someone to get a chip off their shoulder on a opposition board may be in order in the future.
 

Corkie

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I'm really hoping the parking issue is fixed soon, because I honestly think it's holding back attendance numbers. If you have to drive to the game, having to drive and THEN catch a bus is pretty pathetic.

In the meantime, though, there's a Park n Ride option that I'm thinking of taking for the Port game next month.

Can somebody who has used the Boowaggan Road Park 'n' Ride confirm that this is the area that's used? The big open area with pipes all over it? Just curious how big it is and how early to show up to get a park.

JSXzMBO.png


Cheers.

This site is just an empty car parking area now! That's an old photo. The buildings on the top left are still there, it's a conservation department depot. I drive passed on the way to work, rough guesstimate of around 200-300 cars can fit? It's fully fenced and secure.
 

Demonoid

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Yes, I did say it was a stretch (because it is) and in my post I put forward 4 points as to why I thought it is a stretch, which was the entire premise of my post.

They were
  • Food prices are as high as the MCG (ISSUE NOT SOLVED)
  • Transport can take 20-30mins to get a Bus and there is minimal local parking (ISSUE NOT RESOLVED)
  • Crowds are lower than they were in 2011 (ISSUE IS NOT RESOLVED)
  • Stadium construction (unless Trav designed it I am unsure how he adds significant value in this area)

So CARO and now Gillon state that he is going to AFL house as an expert in the above areas, I would suggest that just because someone says Tom Cruise is a great actor, doesn't make it so and just because Gillon or Caro think Trav is an expert in these areas also doesn't make it true. In fact the evidence says he is not. I am sure he will do a great job and I rate him (as state in my original post) but if they are grabbing him on the basis of resolving the above issues they clearly haven't looked at the facts.

Now Demonoid I ask you are my 4 points incorrect? if not and they are the reasons given for Trav to move to AFL house is it not correct to say they are a stretch?

I hope this clears the issue up for you, perhaps reading an entire post before you tell someone to get a chip off their shoulder on a opposition board may be in order in the future.
You clearly have an issue with Caro (claiming she is full of s**t as always) - that's fine, you are not alone. But if that isn't a chip on shoulder then I don't know what is. She obviously does a pretty good job and enough people who matter respect her otherwise she wouldn't have lasted in the position she's been in for that long.
As for why Travis has been brought over I'd put my faith in Gill over your opinion any day. How are you qualified to comment on this issue? I stand by my post.
 
Oct 24, 2008
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You clearly have an issue with Caro (claiming she is full of s**t as always) - that's fine, you are not alone. But if that isn't a chip on shoulder then I don't know what is. She obviously does a pretty good job and enough people who matter respect her otherwise she wouldn't have lasted in the position she's been in for that long.
As for why Travis has been brought over I'd put my faith in Gill over your opinion any day. How are you qualified to comment on this issue? I stand by my post.

As I do mine, peanut
 

Matchu

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5BgQiwY.jpg


So I finally found another copy of this render of Metricon after the stage 2 redevelopment. I don't expect it to look like this during the Comm Games for a few reasons but it could be what it may look like after the games. Firstly, there is no room in that render for a big screen at the northern end which is obviously an issue. Another issue is the fact that one of the light posts won't allow the second tier to go around seamlessly like that. A good idea could be to put the big screen up the northern end towards the top of the second tier like they do at the MCG:

ois7tyu.jpg


Instead of having no seats below the big screen, they could build it next to the section that the second tier and roof currently end on the north-eastern side of the stadium. The second big screen planned for the south-western side of the stadium could cause some issues as well. You can see in this photo below that there probably isn't enough room between the second tier and the start of the broadcasting/corporate area:

7viVQR8.jpg


If you've been to that area of that stadium, you'll know there is a staircase that you can kind of see to the right side of the open section in this photo. I've walked through there many times and I think it is probably only three quarters of the space required for a big screen. So a big screen may have to extend into the second tier to the left a bit. Not such a big deal really considering it'll just end up looking the one at the MCG with seats below. Anyway, it'll be interesting to see how they actually plan to do it.
 

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Norm Smith Medallist
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I'd imagine the easiest option would be just placing a big screen either end of the field above the top tier of seats, similar to the MCG image you've linked Matchu. Can't see them doing it any other way. If there's not one at either end, maybe a few smaller 50" screens around the place would work. I know they do it at the MCC area of the MCG, but I'm not sure how they'd implement it at Metricon.

Any word yet whether the upgrade for the Comm Games is going to be permanent? As much as I like the open end of Metricon, I'd rather a 'completed' stadium!
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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I'd imagine the easiest option would be just placing a big screen either end of the field above the top tier of seats, similar to the MCG image you've linked Matchu. Can't see them doing it any other way. If there's not one at either end, maybe a few smaller 50" screens around the place would work. I know they do it at the MCC area of the MCG, but I'm not sure how they'd implement it at Metricon.

Any word yet whether the upgrade for the Comm Games is going to be permanent? As much as I like the open end of Metricon, I'd rather a 'completed' stadium!
I haven't seen anything new unfortunately. Perhaps we'll get more details tomorrow when the Glasgow games come to an end and the reigns are officially handed over to the Gold Coast in the closing ceremony.
 

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Norm Smith Medallist
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Still no new info on this? I've spent the past 20 minutes looking for updates on the Comm Games upgrade, but it appears nothing more has been done in deciding Metricon's future. Strange.
 

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Norm Smith Medallist
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Old, but this shows that there's going to be a several-hundred park car-park space opposite Metricon. This truly excites me!
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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Still no new info on this? I've spent the past 20 minutes looking for updates on the Comm Games upgrade, but it appears nothing more has been done in deciding Metricon's future. Strange.
I've got a few new things for you but you may have already seen them.

Gold Coast Suns reject chance to share facilities with the Titans in super sports precinct
THE Gold Coast Suns shot down a proposal to share a mega sporting centre with the Titans which would have seen the region’s two professional teams operate under the same roof.

The Bulletin can reveal ex-Suns CEO Travis Auld met with Titans counterpart Graham Annesley earlier this year to discuss a potential shared arrangement at the Carrara location at which the AFL club is currently based.

Gold Coast City Council was keen for the AFL and NRL clubs to entertain the idea in the hope of creating a sporting precinct adjacent to Metricon Stadium.

Major infrastructure will be constructed in the lead-up to the 2018 Commonwealth Games and council was keen to have the Suns and Titans operate from there in the future.

But discussions didn’t progress past the initial mid-season meeting, with the Suns and AFL believed to be cool on the idea.
I can see where this is going. The facilities for the "super sports precinct" will be built and the Suns will have exclusive access to them. Once they are completed it'll be obvious that the Suns have both the best stadium and training/admin facilities of any Gold Coast sports team and that's exactly what the AFL wanted and intended to happen when they invested in it back in 2009. Smart plan.

First high rise planned for Nerang
GOLD Coast property development industry visionary Geoff Burchill is planning to take Nerang to new heights — literally.

The 76-year-old structural engineer and 47-year-old son Tony want to build the blue-collar suburb’s first apartment tower.

The 17-level high-rise will be one of five buildings on long-held family land near the Nerang train station and with quick access to the Pacific highway.

The Burchill plan, which is subject to city council approvals, will provide 173 apartments on a site with both river and park frontages.
Context - Metricon is located around the Carrara-Nerang border and this project would be pretty close to the stadium. In fact, it's between the stadium and Nerang train station. So what's the significance? Well there are a few projects in the area that have been proposed but none having actually begun construction yet. The article points to the obvious benefit of a snowball effect in construction for that area. As most of you know, Metricon is surrounded by a lot of spare land but with this high rise looking likely to get the nod and the proposed 5 star hotel located even closer to the stadium, you can imagine what it would mean if one project got underway.

It wouldn't surprise me if a company was given permission to build a shopping centre across the road from Metricon when these projects get underway. Let's just hope someone is smart enough to build a pub!
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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A little bit of news here on the redevelopment of the Carrara Sports Precinct. Last month a new render of the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre was released by the BVN Donovan Hill group. Here it is:

dJCjF70.jpg


Here is the site plan for the precinct which shows how big the Sports and Leisure Centre is going to be. You can see the current indoor stadium (the one in the + shape) is about a quarter of the size of the planned Sports and Leisure Centre. The CSLC is next to the water which is currently a soccer field. The second image below shows that grassy area north of the indoor stadium that will be used to create the CSLC.

JiseGr8.jpg

TaELbvz.jpg


Just looking back on some of the plans and it appears they want to create a north and south plaza around the CSLC. It's definitely a good thing to have a bigger walking area for the public and the plans also appear to have a restaurant area in the plazas. Here is a picture of one of the planned plazas:

97jDJU2.jpg


Now some quotes from Jann Stuckey (Minister for the Commonwealth Games) last month:

“The Carrara Precinct projects include construction of the $100 million new Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre project, $8 million for major upgrades to Carrara Indoor Stadium and $6 million for upgrades to Carrara Stadium,” she said.

“The redeveloped precinct will provide a mix of new elite and community facilities for all of south east Queensland and encourage greater grassroots participation in sport on the Gold Coast.

“The new Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre, which comprises of two multi-use indoor sports halls and a shared public plaza, will be the first project within the Carrara Precinct.”
 
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Matchu

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The Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre will become the Suns training and admin facility after the Comm Games. Just to put it in perspective, the CSLC will cost $100 million while GWS's Learning Life Centre cost $11.5 million and Collingwood's Westpac Centre cost $20 million. Now we start to understand why they have been waiting and why people are labelling them some of the best training and admin facilities in the land. We also now understand why the Titans were interested in sharing the facility but the Suns weren't interested in doing that. Instead the Titans are getting facilities in Coomera that will cost $7 million.

Construction of the CSLC is planned to start late this year (2014) and will take three years to complete.
 
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Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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Just a little bit more on the Suns' intentions for the CSLC facility - Gold Coast Suns will get new HQ at Carrara Sports Precinct

The Carrara precinct will be transformed after the Games into a high-performance centre for hire.

The vision of the State Government and the Games planning committee is that the Carraraprecinct will become an elite training destination, targeting international sporting bodies organisations such as English Premier League soccer clubs and international rugby sides for pre-season training camps — potentially pumping millions of dollars a year into the Queensland economy.

...

The Suns must contribute $20 million to their training and administration centre and vacate it during the Games so the facility can stage badminton and fencing tournaments and also be the control hub for Games officials.

Suns chairman John Witheriff said yesterday the philosophy behind the planning for the precinct was that it would become a financial asset for the city after the Games as a key elite sporting destination.

He said the Suns, as major tenants, would have a role to play in managing the facility.

“If you look at the Indian situation after their Commonwealth Games, a lot of those assets are simply being bulldozed and knocked down,” Witheriff said.

“That’s not going to happen in Queensland. The Gold Coast Suns are going to have to wear the costs and expense of ensuring that a number of those legacy assets are maintained for the benefit of the community.

“It just won’t be a piece of Gold Coast Suns infrastructure, it will be one where the Suns interact with a whole lot of other sporting teams and our skills are shared and our medical information shared and our athletic knowledge is shared.”

Last month, Suns officials and architects from BVN Donovan Hill toured the facilities of AFL clubs Essendon, Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne, Carlton and Greater Western Sydney.

Suns official Andrew Travis, who oversaw the development of Metricon Stadium, is closely involved in the planning process.

He also worked on the AAMI Park precinct in Melbourne and has been seconded to the planning committee for the new AFL venue in Perth.

Witheriff said his presence ensured the Suns’ design requirements would be met.

“What is really positive is we’re deeply included in the process, our staff are working with the planning staff and architects,” he said.

It would appear the Suns will contribute money to the facility in exchange for management rights which is exactly what they did with Metricon Stadium. As the article points out, the Suns will try to cut deals with international soccer and rugby teams to use the facilities in exchange for money presumably. It's another way to make money all year round so that's clever on their behalf. The climate on the Gold Coast is near perfect for any sport so I don't think they'll struggle to get tenants. Plus they get world class training facilities to use whenever they like so it'll help the playing group as well.

The way Witheriff was quoted in that article gives the impression the Suns already have some ownership over the facility. That would explain why they were able to push the Titans away from sharing the facility. It's good to see the architects toured other AFL clubs to get an idea of the Suns' needs.
 
Oct 24, 2008
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A little bit of news here on the redevelopment of the Carrara Sports Precinct. Last month a new render of the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre was released by the BVN Donovan Hill group. Here it is:

dJCjF70.jpg


Here is the site plan for the precinct which shows how big the Sports and Leisure Centre is going to be. You can see the current indoor stadium (the one in the + shape) is about a quarter of the size of the planned Sports and Leisure Centre. The CSLC is next to the water which is currently a soccer field. The second image below shows that grassy area north of the indoor stadium that will be used to create the CSLC.

JiseGr8.jpg

TaELbvz.jpg


Just looking back on some of the plans and it appears they want to create a north and south plaza around the CSLC. It's definitely a good thing to have a bigger walking area for the public and the plans also appear to have a restaurant area in the plazas. Here is a picture of one of the planned plazas:

97jDJU2.jpg


Now some quotes from Jann Stuckey (Minister for the Commonwealth Games) last month:
Hey Matchu does the new design mean the current Bball stadium (the x as you call it) is going to stay, if so for what purpose, I thought it was getting a well deserved demolishing
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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Hey Matchu does the new design mean the current Bball stadium (the x as you call it) is going to stay, if so for what purpose, I thought it was getting a well deserved demolishing
They claim there will be major upgrades to the indoor basketball stadium to the cost of $8 million. Hopefully they invest some into the exterior because it's very ugly right now. You'll notice that both the indoor stadium and the plans for the CSLC are above the ground level. I presume that has to do with avoiding flooding issues. Hopefully they install some drainage system as well to avoid this:

LsoBhyp.jpg
 

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Norm Smith Medallist
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They claim there will be major upgrades to the indoor basketball stadium to the cost of $8 million. Hopefully they invest some into the exterior because it's very ugly right now. You'll notice that both the indoor stadium and the plans for the CSLC are above the ground level. I presume that has to do with avoiding flooding issues. Hopefully they install some drainage system as well to avoid this:

LsoBhyp.jpg
Have seen this photo a million times and never paid attention to the perspective. Just realized where this photo was taken... holy s**t.
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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Have seen this photo a million times and never paid attention to the perspective. Just realized where this photo was taken... holy s**t.
The surrounding area is floodplain so I'm sure that's why everything is built above ground level. No doubt there will be a drainage system installed to avoid a situation like the picture above. I wonder if they are still going to build the bridge over Nerang-Broadbeach Road. I know a bridge was a part of the initial plans but I can't tell if they've scraped it in the new plans.
 

vide0n

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Wow seems like we are well on our way to being financially sound in the future.
 
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