Opinion Where should a Gold Coast ticker tape parade be held?

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Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 12, 2007
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Just in case you don't know what a ticker tape parade is just watch this video:



Okay, now that everyone knows what a ticker tape parade is, where would you hold one if the Suns were to win a premiership over the next few years? There isn't really an obvious place unlike other major cities in Australia. Such an event appears to require a wide road, easy to get to and close proximity to a stage. I would say the easiest places to get to on the Gold Coast are the central suburbs that run along the coast line which means Broadbeach, Surfers Paradise, Main Beach and Southport.

So what about an open area with a stage? Well this cuts the list down to Broadbeach and Southport in my opinion. Broadbeach offers Pratten Park along Old Burleigh Road while Southport offers Broadwater Parklands along the Gold Coast Highway. The first alarm bell should go off when you hear Gold Coast Highway. It would be hard to justify shutting down one of the busiest parts of the second most important road in the city just for a premiership celebration.

So I'm going to say Pratten Park in Broadbeach is the ideal destination for a ticker tape parade. Now the question is which streets will be shut down for the parade. I think the blocked off roads should start at Queensland Avenue (right next to a tram stop) and turn right on to Old Burleigh Road before finishing at the stage set up at Pratten Park. That's a stretch of 700 metres which seems about right to me. Pratten Park is also located next to Kurrawa Surf Club which is where the Suns often do recovery.

It would be quite the scene to see red and yellow confetti cover the streets of Broadbeach while thousands line the street to congratulate the players on their premiership and the Suns song is blaring all day long. The expression 'paint the town red' would take on a new meaning. Anyway, where would you hold a ticker tape parade on the Gold Coast?
 

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Corkie

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I think logistically they need to would hold it on Marine Parade at Southport, with it concluding at the Broadwater Parklands. Already a large stage in place with a very large grassed viewing area for spectators. Excellent facilities/amenities, ample parking in the nearby area, public access via the tram. More than likely they could also offer a free park n shuttle from Parklands 5mins up the road.

Marine Parade is the most frequently used for marathons, triathlons, Anzac Day marches etc, because of it can be closed off with the least possible side effects to local traffic and it has extremely wide footpath areas to ease congestion of spectators. The staging area is used for concerts during Indy and for city council family fun days, xmas carols, etc.

Closing off roads south of Surfers Paradise never seems to be looked upon favourably because it's closes the main access between our tourist hub and the airport, parking can be chaotic and it forces motorists to use Bermuda St/Bundall Rd, which turns into a nightmare.
 
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Corkie

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We could go true Goldy style and have a beach parade ie. surf club style. Players in the back of 4WD utes and then have the stage set up at the end of Hanlan St like they do for the a Surfers Chrissy carols. Makes central Surfers pretty chaotic though.
 

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Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 12, 2007
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I think logistically they need to would hold it on Marine Parade at Southport, with it concluding at the Broadwater Parklands. Already a large stage in place with a very large grassed viewing area for spectators. Excellent facilities/amenities, ample parking in the nearby area, public access via the tram. More than likely they could also offer a free park n shuttle from Parklands 5mins up the road.

Marine Parade is the most frequently used for marathons, triathlons, Anzac Day marches etc, because of it can be closed off with the least possible side effects to local traffic and it has extremely wide footpath areas to ease congestion of spectators. The staging area is used for concerts during Indy and for city council family fun days, xmas carols, etc.

Closing off roads south of Surfers Paradise never seems to be looked upon favourably because it's closes the main access between our tourist hub and the airport, parking can be chaotic and it forces motorists to use Bermuda St/Bundall Rd, which turns into a nightmare.
Initially I thought Broadwater Parklands would be ideal too but it isn't as central as Broadbeach. The Suns seem to favour events in Broadbeach over any other part of the Gold Coast so I could seem them doing it at Pratten Park. You could be right though, Southport has its own advantages and maybe they will do it there. If the Gold Coast Council gets involved them I'm sure they'll push for it to be at Broadwater Parklands.

Does anyone know if the Gold Coast has held a ticker tape parade in the past? If so, where did they do it?
 

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Norm Smith Medallist
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Just watching the celebrations in the streets of Cleveland after their team pulled out a crucial game 3 win in the finals has me thinking about where something like that may occur on the Gold Coast when (if?) the Suns go deep in the finals/make the Grand Final/win the Premiership. I'm not just talking about a ticker tape parade but also celebrations after a big game. A lot of things have changed since I made this thread which opens up several options for this one. I see three realistic options:
  • Kurrawa Park, Broadbeach
  • Cavill Avenue, Surfers Paradise
  • Broadwater Parklands, Southport
Kurrawa Park. Probably the option most locals would lean to. A few months ago it was announced the Kurrawa Surf Club will be knocked down and replaced with a bigger and better version just south of the current site. The current building will be knocked down which will extend Kurrawa Park. This articlereveals a massive screen will be installed at Kurrawa Park as well as upgrades coming the way of the Oasis Shopping Centre. There is also talk the Broadbeach monorail that runs from the Oasis Shopping Centre to Jupiters casino will be replaced with a green bridge. The foreshore parklands will be upgraded and the area as a whole should look a lot better in the build up to the 2018 Comm Games. Kurrawa Park is about 2-3 blocks east of the Broadbeach North tram station so it's easy to get to via public transport. So Kurrawa Park offers a big parkland area, a totally redeveloped area and a massive screen to watch the game. Pretty strong contender.

Cavill Avenue. Wasn't really a contender until it was announced last week that a Times-Square like screen will be installed on the corner of Cavill and Orchid Avenues. As everyone would know, great location but it is a pedestrian street rather than a parkland area. It does have the advantage of being close to lots of pubs/clubs and is considered to be iconic for the Gold Coast. I'm sure some people would prefer to watch and celebrate in Cavill Avenue with the games being shown live on the big screen. There is a tram station actually on Cavill Avenue so it's very easy to get to. I don't think it's capable of holding a ticker tape parade. It's an option though. The style of screen in Cavill Avenue may make it awkward:

MSMfAMA.jpg


Broadwater Parklands. I think this would definitely be the council's preference when it comes to an area that the masses will gather. Just like Kurrawa Park, a massive screen will be installed at Broadwater Parklands for the Commonwealth Games. It is a part of the CBD but it's not really a true CBD just yet. There is a Broadwater Parklands tram station but crossing the Gold Coast Highway to get to the Parklands can be tricky. It's an option and probably the preference from council.

Ideally you want something similar to Federation Square in Melbourne that also offers a road that can be shut down for the ticker tape parade. It also needs to be easy to access via public transport. For those reasons, I'm still sticking with Kurrawa Park in Broadbeach but I think in all likelihood you'll see people using all three of those locations to watch the games. A ticker tape parade should still be held in Broadbeach IMO.
 

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