Cricket at Metricon stadium

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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that was some of the craziest weather i've ever seen. I was at the sydney game with 4000 other fans a few years ago where the rain was pretty torrential, but last night was something else. even sitting up in the back row of the second tier on the northern end we were still getting wet, the rain and wind was insane. full credit to the drainage systems of carrara, very lucky we got any cricket at all! average result but decent atmosphere, i'll be heading back for a big bash game i think.
Those who stuck around were treated to a pretty exciting game (at least for three quarters of the match). I think everyone in the stadium was on the edge of their seat when Lynnsanity hit three boundaries off his first four balls. Sadly, we couldn't keep it up and it all started to unravel a few overs later. All credit to South Africa though. They were aggressive from the get go and put up an almost unattainable total for us to chase.

Here's hoping for better weather during the BBL games because I can see this working on the Gold Coast!
 

Sunraysia

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Those who stuck around were treated to a pretty exciting game (at least for three quarters of the match). I think everyone in the stadium was on the edge of their seat when Lynnsanity hit three boundaries off his first four balls. Sadly, we couldn't keep it up and it all started to unravel a few overs later. All credit to South Africa though. They were aggressive from the get go and put up an almost unattainable total for us to chase.

Here's hoping for better weather during the BBL games because I can see this working on the Gold Coast!
Unfortunately I bailed early - had a frail father in law with me who needed a seat - and they were all very wet !!
Couldn't wait for possible play so left after waiting 45minutes or so.
That said - the venue will be great for 20/20 or one day cricket .. and I will certainly attend the Big Bash games...
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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Unfortunately I bailed early - had a frail father in law with me who needed a seat - and they were all very wet !!
Couldn't wait for possible play so left after waiting 45minutes or so.
That said - the venue will be great for 20/20 or one day cricket .. and I will certainly attend the Big Bash games...
Sorry to hear you missed out and can fully understand why anyone would choose to leave given the circumstances.

I suppose another detail to consider here is that the amount of boundaries that were hit and wickets that were taken would indicate that we've got a good wicket at Metricon. Also, the drainage system at Metricon must be top notch considering how much rain fell prior to the start of play. It's something we can be proud of.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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Qld Cricket boss Max Walters opens up about the Gold Coast’s growing importance to the game
WITH the Gold Coast still savouring its first taste of elite cricket following Saturday night’s T20 international at Metricon Stadium, Queensland Cricket chief executive Max Walters has opened up about the city’s growing importance to the game.

METRICON DEBUT

Despite heavy rain shortly before Saturday’s T20 between Australia and South Africa, Walters said the crowd of 12,866 proved fans would get behind the three looming Big Bash fixtures on December 22, and January 1 and 5.

“I thought it was good. Obviously the rain probably lost us 5000 or 6000 people but I thought it was a great experience,” he said.

“It’s a beautiful ground under lights for cricket now that the wicket’s in there, you can really get the perspective of the whole thing. I think it augers well for the future.

“The plan is to use Metricon in both Cricket Australia’s strategy and Queensland Cricket’s strategy, from the point of view of the Brisbane Heat. That’s a deal that’s been done (with the BBL) for the next three years and hopefully thereafter.”

DOLPHINS DEVELOPMENT

With the Gold Coast Dolphins’ headquarters at Bill Pippen Oval to be upgraded to Tier 2 standard in the coming years, Walters said it shaped as a key piece of infrastructure for female cricket in particular.

“Bill Pippen Oval is part of the overall Queensland Cricket strategy for sure. What we’re trying to do is develop a number of grounds (to become) like Allan Border Field and Bill Pippen Oval falls into that category as a Tier 2 ground.

“Tier 2 grounds mean we can attract high-level, elite women’s games and more junior carnivals and so on and even possibly Sheffield Shield games. That helps very much with the increased content for women’s and girls’ cricket.”

COAST INVESTMENT

The emergence of Dolphins stars Michael Neser, Max Bryant, Matt Kuhnemann and Xavier Bartlett into QC pathways has justified the governing body’s investment in Coast cricket, according to Walters.

“Jeff Pfaff (Dolphins president) runs an outstanding club and they’ve been very good producers of talent from that area. A Premier Grade club has that dual responsibility to produce or bring in young elite players and also provide participation for the lower grades.

“When there’s elite cricket in an area, that prompts young girls and boys to play cricket. We work closely with the Dolphins through Jeff Pfaff and we’ll be shortly having more participation staff on the Gold Coast, so it’s a very, very important area for us both in terms of elite cricket and participation for youngsters to start playing cricket.”

THE BBL DREAM

While the BBL will remain an eight-team competition in the short term, Walters said it was only a matter of time before the Coast joined the expansion conversation.

“The current Cricket Australia strategy and Queensland Cricket strategy is to develop the full home-and-away season with the same number of franchises, but if that goes gangbusters then attention will turn to new franchises.

“We’re hoping to build the Brisbane Heat franchise by taking it to the Coast. Down the track, and that would be three or four years away, it’s anybody’s guess what might happen (and) the two no-brainers for (expansion) consideration in Queensland would be the Gold Coast and north Queensland.”
Cricket at Metricon Stadium makes a strong first impression despite rain-affected Twenty20
Rain poured down in the hour before the Twenty20 between Australia and South Africa was scheduled to start on Saturday night, forcing a delay of almost two hours.

The 12,866 who braved the weather were treated to an entertaining 10 overs a side spectacle as the Proteas proved too good in a 21-run victory, despite the all-round efforts of Glenn Maxwell, who backed up 1-14 and two catches with a solo effort of 38 off 23 balls.

Before that, Metricon’s groundstaff earnt their wage by getting the arena ready for action soon after the downpour had stopped and uncovering a flat pitch that would allow 195 runs to be scored across the 20 overs.

A spokesman for Queensland Cricket confirmed 15,100 tickets had been sold and said the Coast was set for many more drawcard fixtures, starting with a three-year Big Bash League contract.

“We would have expected a few more in walk-up attendance if the weather had been kind,” he said.

“We can foresee that the market is strong here and there is a lot of positivity.

“This isn’t about trying out the Gold Coast; this is about a long-term investment.”

Gold Coast Dolphins president Jeff Pfaff, who was a driving force behind bringing top-level cricket to Carrara, said the match-day experience such as teething problems with the scoreboard will only improve for future games.

“Obviously the weather was unfortunate but to have that much rain and then they played not long after showed that the ground is superb,” he said.

“I think those that battled it out enjoyed it – it was pretty loud for a small crowd, and a good atmosphere.

“(Saturday) night was just the taste, basically. But when they did play, there was lots of action, the ball ran well over the outfield, there were plenty of sixes hit and great catches so I think that will whet the appetite for sure.

“I think it went really well. Not perfect but really well.

“Put it this way: Everything there last night was at its worst and the view generally is really positive. You’re only going to get the experience for fans better, the pitch better, the scoreboard working better.”

Cricket will return to Metricon for a trio of BBL games on December 22, January 1 and January 5.
The feedback seems positive. It's good to see the head of Queensland Cricket recognises the Gold Coast as an important market for them moving forward and it's natural to assume they would like a second BBL franchise based in Queensland in the near future.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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Exactly one week until BBL debuts at Metricon!

I just had a little look at available tickets on Ticketek and it would appear a lot of sections are sold out so we might be in for a big crowd next weekend (if the rain stays away this time!) You'd think a Brisbane Heat win on Wednesday night will probably slightly increase the crowd at Metricon on Saturday so here's hoping the Heat can beat Adelaide on Wednesday!
 

Sunraysia

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Exactly one week until BBL debuts at Metricon!

I just had a little look at available tickets on Ticketek and it would appear a lot of sections are sold out so we might be in for a big crowd next weekend (if the rain stays away this time!) You'd think a Brisbane Heat win on Wednesday night will probably slightly increase the crowd at Metricon on Saturday so here's hoping the Heat can beat Adelaide on Wednesday!
Missing that one - but have booked the whole family in for the New Years Day game.. think it will be good having our own New Years Day match - hope they make it a regular thing.
 
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We hung around at home wondering if they would get a start so really surprised they got 19 overs each
Got there one over in so perfectly timed run
Boys had loads of fun
Metricon looks great as a cricket venue
13,000 was a decent crowd given the time of the year and the weather I thought
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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Had a solid time at the Cricket, always a great joy to see Brisbane get beaten in anything.
Bring on a GC Team. Now!
Young Gold Coaster Max Bryant played quite well and Lynnsanity was in fine form. Doesn't Bryant have a link to the Titans?

17k is a decent crowd and I'd imagine Cricket Australia would be relatively pleased with it. Does it warrant a new franchise? Probably not. I think the crowds need to be closer to 20k to put forward a legitimate case for expansion.
 

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Young Gold Coaster Max Bryant played quite well and Lynnsanity was in fine form. Doesn't Bryant have a link to the Titans?

17k is a decent crowd and I'd imagine Cricket Australia would be relatively pleased with it. Does it warrant a new franchise? Probably not. I think the crowds need to be closer to 20k to put forward a legitimate case for expansion.


Bryant father Aaron was a very handy local Rugby League player 20 odd years ago and his mum’s brother is Matt Seers who was an NRL player and a very good one.
 
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Young Gold Coaster Max Bryant played quite well and Lynnsanity was in fine form. Doesn't Bryant have a link to the Titans?

17k is a decent crowd and I'd imagine Cricket Australia would be relatively pleased with it. Does it warrant a new franchise? Probably not. I think the crowds need to be closer to 20k to put forward a legitimate case for expansion.

You would be right, defiantly worth more games at Metricon in coming years but not a new franchise.
 

hitthepost

Norm Smith Medallist
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Actually pretty neutral
I'd be looking for 2-3 years of consistent 20k is crowds for both Heat and neutral games to consider it - showing an appetite for cricket and that they're not locked onto the Heat and thus wouldn't transfer to the new team.
 

Matchu

Norm Smith Medallist
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Bryant father Aaron was a very handy local Rugby League player 20 odd years ago and his mum’s brother is Matt Seers who was an NRL player and a very good one.
Nice to see the son of a gun make it, albeit in another sport. We're starting to see a rise in these types of father-son players on the Gold Coast with Rory Thompson and Brayden/Ashton Crossley coming to mind.

Anyway, I was under the impression Bryant was a rugby league prospect himself but I could be wrong. Based on what I saw yesterday, I think he made the right choice in choosing to pursue cricket because there's plenty to be made all over the world if you're a big hitter in T20 cricket. Here's hoping we will one day see Bryant line up for a Gold Coast-based BBL team!

You would be right, defiantly worth more games at Metricon in coming years but not a new franchise.
I'd be looking for 2-3 years of consistent 20k is crowds for both Heat and neutral games to consider it - showing an appetite for cricket and that they're not locked onto the Heat and thus wouldn't transfer to the new team.
Bums on seats, not enough = no franchise
One thing to consider is the Heat's recent poor form may be affecting the crowds. They are predicting 19k for the Melbourne Stars-Sydney Thunder game on Saturday night and both of those teams are currently sitting in the top 4 of the BBL standings. So a larger crowd for this upcoming fixture may show us poor form (coupled with Brisbane people's unwillingness to travel down the M1) is probably restricting attendance numbers on the Gold Coast. We all know Lions fans have been unwilling to travel for Suns home games in the past and it's entirely possible we're seeing the same thing occur in cricket.

Should this Saturday's fixture pull a 19k+ crowd, then I think they'll start to consider the Gold Coast as a potential market for future expansion. Averaging somewhere between the 19-21k mark is what's required IMO.
 

GC2015

Norm Smith Medallist
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Attending a Big Bash game is a completely different experience to an AFL game but I had a good time at Metricon yesterday. A high scoring affair for both teams makes for an exciting finish and that's exactly what we got yesterday. Anyone heading to the final game at Metricon this weekend?
 
If Stars v Thunder gets anything more than 15k considering both teams bases are at least a long roadtrip and/or a flight away would definitely warrant a team on the Coast.

I go for Brisbane everything except the Big Bash as I was unable to warm to the Heat, which to me represents the death of the Bulls in T20 cricket and they wear Port Adelaide colours. If GC gets a Big Bash franchise I may consider jumping ship (currently a Renegades fan)
 

hitthepost

Norm Smith Medallist
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If Stars v Thunder gets anything more than 15k considering both teams bases are at least a long roadtrip and/or a flight away would definitely warrant a team on the Coast.

I go for Brisbane everything except the Big Bash as I was unable to warm to the Heat, which to me represents the death of the Bulls in T20 cricket and they wear Port Adelaide colours. If GC gets a Big Bash franchise I may consider jumping ship (currently a Renegades fan)
If we all didn't go to big bash coz it was the death of state sides in t20 then nobody would be at any of the games :p
 
If we all didn't go to big bash coz it was the death of state sides in t20 then nobody would be at any of the games :p
I disagree, the new Big Bash got big because they put it on FTA and made the tix really cheap (to be fair it was cheap in the old big bash too)

A match between Victoria and Tasmania got 47k once IIRC
 

hitthepost

Norm Smith Medallist
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I disagree, the new Big Bash got big because they put it on FTA and made the tix really cheap (to be fair it was cheap in the old big bash too)

A match between Victoria and Tasmania got 47k once IIRC
Big bash started on Fox...
 

The Victorian

Norm Smith Medallist
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If Stars v Thunder gets anything more than 15k considering both teams bases are at least a long roadtrip and/or a flight away would definitely warrant a team on the Coast.

I go for Brisbane everything except the Big Bash as I was unable to warm to the Heat, which to me represents the death of the Bulls in T20 cricket and they wear Port Adelaide colours. If GC gets a Big Bash franchise I may consider jumping ship (currently a Renegades fan)
I was hoping to fly up for the game as I barrack for the Stars but flights are insane. They are like $185 to fly there which is way to expensive to fly up. I know that its great having games on the Gold Coast but the thing that is annoying is that they are taking a Stars HOME game outside Victoria. It does annoy me but I guess they need to expand one day.

On the Big Bash, I think it is suffering having it on Channel Seven. I quite like the Football coverage on Seven but I did prefer the cricket on Ten. Hopefully the next deal is Fox Cricket & Ten.
 
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I was hoping to fly up for the game as I barrack for the Stars but flights are insane. They are like $185 to fly there which is way to expensive to fly up. I know that its great having games on the Gold Coast but the thing that is annoying is that they are taking a Stars HOME game outside Victoria. It does annoy me but I guess they need to expand one day.

On the Big Bash, I think it is suffering having it on Channel Seven. I quite like the Football coverage on Seven but I did prefer the cricket on Ten. Hopefully the next deal is Fox Cricket & Ten.
i mean, they do the same thing with some afl games from victorian clubs (e.g. richmond's brilliant idea playing in cairns). is a bit odd to see two non-qld teams playing up here, will be interesting to see how the crowds go!
 
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