The Gold Coast could soon be awarded a league licenceFont Size
rint Greg Denham, Australian football | January 27, 2009
Article from: The Australian
THE Gold Coast remains well on target for an AFL entry in 2011 and could be awarded the league's 17th licence as early as next month.
Bid chairman John Witheriff, who appears certain to stay on as the new club's first president, yesterday said he was not surprised when the league last month deferred its decision to formally endorse his consortium during a severe downturn in global financial markets.
"My thinking was always that a decision would be made by about February," Witheriff said. "The AFL are still crunching the numbers, but there is every indication that we'll get a positive outcome. We're confident about it ... and we've been careful about our (sponsorship) partners."
Witheriff, whose GC17 bid consortium has always been the league's preferred choice, said he was confident that yet-to-be announced club sponsors had not been detrimentally affected by the current economic climate.
He said major and second-tier sponsors were locked in but could not be announced until after a licence was approved.
The consortium, which comprises Witheriff, Graeme Downie, Alan Mackenzie, Bob Gordon and Dale Dickson, believes it has achieved all the entry criteria placed on it by the league last year.
Those criteria included a minimum prospective membership figure of 20,000 (which has escalated to more than 44,000), a major sponsor, 11 support sponsors and 100 business partners as financial contributors.
Witheriff also stressed any stalling of the licence by the AFL commission had no impact on the club's on-field development and progress.
Under senior coach Guy McKenna, who has a two-year contract, the Gold Coast will start in the under-18 TAC Cup competition in April. It has already signed eight teenagers and has a current squad of 40 players.
The AFL has underwritten the cost of the 2009 season, which includes an initial start-up estimate of $2.5million. Witheriff is also buoyed by the Queensland Government's decision not to hold the AFL to an existing contract which required the new club to play all home games at the Gabba in Brisbane until 2015.
The Gold Coast will not appoint its first chief executive until after it is granted a licence.
rint Greg Denham, Australian football | January 27, 2009 Article from: The Australian
THE Gold Coast remains well on target for an AFL entry in 2011 and could be awarded the league's 17th licence as early as next month.
Bid chairman John Witheriff, who appears certain to stay on as the new club's first president, yesterday said he was not surprised when the league last month deferred its decision to formally endorse his consortium during a severe downturn in global financial markets.
"My thinking was always that a decision would be made by about February," Witheriff said. "The AFL are still crunching the numbers, but there is every indication that we'll get a positive outcome. We're confident about it ... and we've been careful about our (sponsorship) partners."
Witheriff, whose GC17 bid consortium has always been the league's preferred choice, said he was confident that yet-to-be announced club sponsors had not been detrimentally affected by the current economic climate.
He said major and second-tier sponsors were locked in but could not be announced until after a licence was approved.
The consortium, which comprises Witheriff, Graeme Downie, Alan Mackenzie, Bob Gordon and Dale Dickson, believes it has achieved all the entry criteria placed on it by the league last year.
Those criteria included a minimum prospective membership figure of 20,000 (which has escalated to more than 44,000), a major sponsor, 11 support sponsors and 100 business partners as financial contributors.
Witheriff also stressed any stalling of the licence by the AFL commission had no impact on the club's on-field development and progress.
Under senior coach Guy McKenna, who has a two-year contract, the Gold Coast will start in the under-18 TAC Cup competition in April. It has already signed eight teenagers and has a current squad of 40 players.
The AFL has underwritten the cost of the 2009 season, which includes an initial start-up estimate of $2.5million. Witheriff is also buoyed by the Queensland Government's decision not to hold the AFL to an existing contract which required the new club to play all home games at the Gabba in Brisbane until 2015.
The Gold Coast will not appoint its first chief executive until after it is granted a licence.
