News PeopleFirst (Bank) Stadium and Precinct

[Matchu]

still wouldn't consider it eastern, maybe just northern.

I meant the north-eastern corner of the CSLC.

 

[Matchu]

Titans investigated playing home games at Metricon Stadium

THE Titans have a month to convince the government to cut its hiring costs for Cbus Super Stadium as it emerged they had contemplated shifting to the home of AFL’S Gold Coast Suns, Metricon Stadium.

On Monday the Titans extended the short-term agreement that has been in place all season to play Saturday’s home game against the Panthers at Robina.

And the move has given them an extended period to finally reach an agreement with Stadiums Queensland and the various government divisions involved in negotiations.

The Gold Coast’s next home game isn’t until May 16, when they host Cronulla.

A mexican stand-off is underway with the Titans refusing to sign a deal anywhere near as costly as their previous contract.

The club had been paying $1.8 million to $2 million-a-year to play 12 games at the venue, which was thought to be one of the most expensive hiring agreements in the NRL.

The Titans and NRL, who own the club, are determined to broker a more affordable deal but the relevant divisions are yet to come to the party.

Stadiums Queensland is aware there is no other suitable venue for the Titans to play at on the Gold Coast apart from Metricon at Carrara.

The Titans investigated playing matches at Metricon, but the venue is still owned by Stadiums Queensland and would incur a similar hiring fee.

The Suns and AFL have management rights that allows them to dictate in-stadium pricing and conditions of entry, but the Titans would be treated the same way they have at Cbus.

Playing rugby league on a circle field is also not ideal.

The Titans, NRL and Stadiums Queensland yesterday released a joint statement confirming talks were ongoing.

“The Gold Coast Titans, NRL and Stadiums Queensland said they are working towards a long term hiring agreement at Cbus Super Stadium,” it read.

“Agreement has been reached for the Titans to play at Cbus for their next home game against Penrith on Saturday April 18.

“In the meantime, the parties will continue to work constructively on a longer term stadium hiring agreement.

“All parties reiterated that it is in everyone’s best interests for the Titans to continue to play out of Cbus Super Stadium and discussions towards this goal were continuing.”

The Titans recently threatened to take their Good Friday clash against the Broncos to ANZ Stadium in what would have been a dramatic move.

They eventually reached an agreement to play the match at Cbus but are no closer to nutting out a long-term deal despite meeting with the relevant parties last Wednesday.

Probably means the Titans will never move back to Carrara.

 

[exile]

Something could definitely be on the cards. If you look at this photo below you will see what appears to be a cafe area on the top level of the CSLC with a balcony overlooking the training oval and the Nerang River. Patrons would also be able to see the Surfers Paradise/Broadbeach skyline in the distance from that vantage point. I guess it's just a question of whether they'll open that area up to the public but, given there is a public walkway/plaza area just below, I think there is a good chance it will be open to the public. I've been inside a similar cafe set up at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium and they regularly get guests from the footy, Tennis Australia and the general public. I think the Suns will be more inclined to open it up to public once they realise it is a great way to make money, if they haven't already.

gonna bring my post into this thread rather than the review one.

i'm not sure that the "cafe" area in the picture would be enough to satisfy what TARGETMAN has stated we need. can see it being a small area, but i'll have a nosy around the goldcoast.com website to see if there's any more details available.

on the topic of the clubhouse, i fully agree that down the track we should look at the prospect of one. however, success breeds success, and right now we need to perform well on field before even considering utilising a clubhouse of sorts.

in terms of location, if there isn't anything of the sorts in the CSLC, perhaps where the current "headquarters" are right now could be an option? on the proposed plan on the previous page (how's that alliteration for you! haha), they've left it open. maybe down the track if a ferry service is built it could dock there, straight into the clubhouse?

another thought would be public access throughout the year. if it's to be successful like many local rsl's, it needs to be accessible. i know right now there isn't a lot of parking, but with the new upgrade there's to be a bit more (i think?). however i don't think it would be enough to cater for gold coast suns players & staff, aflq staff, patrons of the CSLC and a proposed clubhouse.

 

[Matchu]

gonna bring my post into this thread rather than the review one.

i'm not sure that the "cafe" area in the picture would be enough to satisfy what TARGETMAN has stated we need. can see it being a small area, but i'll have a nosy around the goldcoast.com website to see if there's any more details available.

on the topic of the clubhouse, i fully agree that down the track we should look at the prospect of one. however, success breeds success, and right now we need to perform well on field before even considering utilising a clubhouse of sorts.

in terms of location, if there isn't anything of the sorts in the CSLC, perhaps where the current "headquarters" are right now could be an option? on the proposed plan on the previous page (how's that alliteration for you! haha), they've left it open. maybe down the track if a ferry service is built it could dock there, straight into the clubhouse?

another thought would be public access throughout the year. if it's to be successful like many local rsl's, it needs to be accessible. i know right now there isn't a lot of parking, but with the new upgrade there's to be a bit more (i think?). however i don't think it would be enough to cater for gold coast suns players & staff, aflq staff, patrons of the CSLC and a proposed clubhouse.

Well something is better than nothing. Definitely agree that the club should focus on the on field product for the moment and think about a clubhouse in the future. The CSLC is supposed to add an extra 400 car parks which should be enough for the club officials and media but won't be enough for the public so they will need to rely on the ferries and buses. I believe there are plans in place to replace the Carrara Indoor Stadium car park and the Suns' current headquarters with an athletics track but there is every possibility that there will still be some land available near the river for a clubhouse. That way, as you said, the clubhouse would be right next to the ferry terminal as well as having a nice view over the Nerang River. You could even add a Gold Coast sports museum of sorts and conduct tours around the Carrara Sports Precinct as another source of revenue. The MCG does it and I'm sure they make a nice little profit out of it.

Funnily enough, Christopher Skase's plans for Carrara back in the day were to turn the area into a sports theme park with the Bears being the main attraction. I can see some similarities between his plans and what the club/fans have proposed.

 

[CQSUN]

Hey Matchu are you aware of what the "Lighting upgrade to broadcast standards for Metracom stadium" are about? As mentioned here http://www.hansenyuncken.com.au/pro...tructure/carrara-sports-precinct-projects-qld.

 

[Matchu]

Hey Matchu are you aware of what the "Lighting upgrade to broadcast standards for Metracom stadium" are about? As mentioned here http://www.hansenyuncken.com.au/pro...tructure/carrara-sports-precinct-projects-qld.

I just presumed it was an upgrade to the light towers and the broadcasting facilities to make sure everything is up to a major international event standard. I think it's going to cost around $7m so it won't be anything too extensive. I'm not sure if Metricon's current lighting meets ICC (cricket) standards but, if it doesn't, this could really help the city in its pursuit to establish a Big Bash League team in the near future.

 

[Vindicater]

Need to make sure you can play cricket there, if not the upgrades will be overpriced and a waste of money.

 

[Matchu]

A better picture of the redevelopment plans:

 

[Matchu]

The public pedestrian walking area between the two halls of the CSLC:

I can only assume the inside (middle picture) will be where the food outlets/cafes are placed. It'll be great for the public to have an plaza area they can walk around and purchase food/drinks before and after Suns games.

 

[Matchu]

Approved redevelopment plans for the Carrara Gardens Golf Course:

As you can see, it will become a tennis and golf club but will also include a restaurant/cafe area. It is located about 500 metres north of the Carrara Sports Precinct so it is well within walking distance before/after a Suns game.

 

[Iva Bigun]

Matchu is that what used to be called the royal pines?

 

[Matchu]

Matchu is that what used to be called the royal pines?

Nah. Carrara Gardens is further north up Nerang-Broadbeach Rd. Royal Pines still exists over the bridge on Ross St. There are quite a few sporting establishments planned for the area now.

 

[exile]

knew of this redevelopment for a while, but it's nice to see some plans. gotta say that 2 level driving range is appealing. might spend a bit of time there before our games.

 

[Matchu]

knew of this redevelopment for a while, but it's nice to see some plans. gotta say that 2 level driving range is appealing. might spend a bit of time there before our games.

It's been on the cards since 2012 but the plans keep getting changed. Council approve their plans and then they change their plans. I would have thought they would want to finish this before the Comm Games to see some quick return on their investment.

 

[SUNS]

definitely a bit of LED advertising in this picture just put up on instagram.

damn you SUNS. you're always in the know haha.

edit: surely that is electronic signage, right? it's way too faded to be a regular advertising board, and it's all 'amcal'. usually there's more of a break in sponsors.

Time to come clean SUNS. Is it electronic signage?

It'll look even better if they do the second tier as well.

Sorry boys. Don't browse through this thread as much as I should. Only just saw this

 

[Experimental]

darkwingduck what did you think of Metricon?

 

[Matchu]

Anyone interested in football history should check out this video. Plenty of footage showing the old Carrara.

 

[thegreig]

Anyone interested in football history should check out this video. Plenty of footage showing the old Carrara.

Great video! It's amazing how much Carrara and football in Queensland have changed over the years.

 

[Matchu]

Gold Coast Commonwealth Games is back on track after “slippage” delays

THE 2018 Commonwealth Games is back on track with venue construction to finish venues by 2017 at the latest.

Commonwealth Games Foundation Co-ordination Commission chair Bruce Robertson said signs of “slippage” revealed last year had been addressed.

“When we were last here in October we noted that there was some slippage in that planning process at that time,” he said.

“We have looked at those areas in particular and are pleased to say that GOLDOC and the State Government have responded to those recommendations.

“The delivery partnership is on schedule and on budget.”

Gold Coast Commonwealth Games Corporation chairman Nigel Chamier said every piece of infrastructure was on target to be complete by 2017.

The commonwealth games progress was slammed in an Auditor-General report to parliament in October last year.

At the time, Auditor-general Andrew Greaves said the key games management had slipped.

Great to hear the State Government has fixed this all up and everything is on track. Everything is expected to be completed by early 2017 at the latest. As silly as it may sound, I think it's actually been really beneficial for the city to not have any Labor MPs. The reason being that Kate Jones was assigned to the Commonwealth Games and has done an extremely good job so far. Kate Jones certainly seems to have more motivation and power to leave a legacy with the Commonwealth Games than Jann Stuckey ever did.

 

[Matchu]

Two things. If you drive past the site of the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre now you will notice they have begun installing pillars. Second thing:

Brisbane Lions to benefit from $25m sporting super centre at Brisbane Airport

Very interesting proposal. The Lions would prefer to have their own training facilities (like the Suns) but they aren't really in a position to be picky. The article also says the facilities would be shared between the Lions and a fourth Queensland NRL but insists the project doesn't hinge on Queensland getting a fourth NRL team. That part is particularly interesting to me. We know the Titans have struggled to secure training facilities and have had an even harder time trying to secure a fair stadium deal so perhaps they are hoping the Titans are open to moving to Brisbane? We know the Titans wanted to share facilities with the Suns in Carrara but were turned down. However, this option may be a different story. The Broncos have received funding to upgrade their current facilities so they aren't going anywhere and I think it's highly unlikely the Cowboys would move to Brisbane in the near future.

 

[gcsunsfc]

knew of this redevelopment for a while, but it's nice to see some plans. gotta say that 2 level driving range is appealing. might spend a bit of time there before our games.

Or after our games with the biggest driver I can find smashing balls as hard as I can to vent haha

 

[gcsunsfc]

All those above plans are exciting! Hopefully the training facilities are up to scratch and looking toward the future. Listening to what Essendon supposedly have..we're miles and miles behind. Described on Triple M Melbourne as an NFL quality training facility. Complete with indoor oval. F. Me

 

[Experimental]

Took this as my bus went past the construction site yesterday.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Iva Bigun]

All those above plans are exciting! Hopefully the training facilities are up to scratch and looking toward the future. Listening to what Essendon supposedly have..we're miles and miles behind. Described on Triple M Melbourne as an NFL quality training facility. Complete with indoor oval. F. Me

Injecting rooms too

 

[Matchu]

View attachment 141611

Took this as my bus went past the construction site yesterday.

Nice picture. It's great to see they are finally starting to build. Maybe we could get a photo update every time the Suns play at home? That would be great to see the evolution of the project.