Expansion And the first team to die in the Gold Coast graveyard is . . .

[Sydneyfan]

The first victim of the Gold Coast sporting graveyard was?

The East Coast Aces ... or wait wasn't it the Gold Coast Cougars/Rollers, or how about the Gold Coast(-Tweed) Giants/Seagulls/Chargers ... wait you're forgetting Skase and the Bears playing out of Carrara.

The last 20 years has seen teams from four different national leagues representing four different sports place a team on the Gold Coast only to see them either flounder, die, merge, relocate or rejuvenate only to die again.

In 1987, the Brisbane Bears were initally placed at Carrara after not finding a suitable venue in Brisbane, the team experiencing a rocky first decade and near collapse due to several factors including initial neglect by the VFL/AFL and Skase's downfall, eventually moving north to Brisbane in 1993.

The Gold Coast(-Tweed) Giants/Seagulls/Chargers were introduced into the NSWRL/ARL/NRL in 1988 and suffered venue, nickname and colour changes until their eventual death in 1998.

The Gold Coast Cougars/Rollers were involved in the NBL from 1990 until 1996.

And the latest team to bite the dust on the Gold Coast was the East Coast Aces of the now defunct National Rugby Championship surviving just the one season last year.

Now, the race has begun to win the hearts and minds of the fickle Gold Coast sporting public. The NRL's Gold Coast Titans headed out of the blocks last year and have already seen off the East Coast Aces. The Gold Coast Blaze made their debut season in the NBL this summer, and now we have confirmation that shortly soccer and AFL will enter the fray with the Gold Coast Galaxy - with ties to the LA Galaxy, and a new Gold Coast AFL entity.

Can the Gold Coast sustain four professional sporting teams playing in four national sporting competitions. History saids no. However, there's the plus that the teams will only be in direct competition with one fellow Gold Coast team as soccer and basketball play through the summer, and Rugby League and AFL during winter.

My belief is that at least one and possibly two teams will not last the next decade. I predict the Gold Coast Blaze to be the first to go. It's a lot more difficult to predict after that as the Titans are already establishing a good base and have a nice little buffer zone before the Galaxy and AFL team commence. The Galaxy have the potential to be huge or flounder. If soccer continues to flourish, it could have a rosy future and having the LA Galaxy onboard might prove very helpful, too. The AFL team will not fail. The AFL will pump enough time, money and energy to ensure that; whether they can win over a big enough portion of the Gold Coast pie and be competitive on and off the field is a bigger question.

 

[Ancient and Loyal]

The Aces are hardly a fair example of Gold Coast sporting failures...The entire ARC, not just them, were wound up.

The Titans are massive on the Gold Coast and in surrounding communities, Especially Logan and Ipswich. Considering how frequently NRL trials and matches filled Carrara before their introduction, and their professional management, I can't see how they'll fail. They don't need any additional NRL support and have emerged purely as a grass roots entity, rather than part of NRL masterplan. (lets face it. The NRL's idea of a strategic plan is how much they can undersell the TV rights to News Corp for) If anything, a 27,500 seat stadium will prove to be their biggest handicap for growth.

 

[The Frederick]

The Galaxy will be fine; no A-League will be allowed to collapse. It's a common misconception that the NZK folded; their licence was actually REVOKED, the FFA said "You're too shit, you're fired, we're replacing you".

 

[erpel9999]

Discounting the Blaze as the NBL is quite different to the 3 Outdoor sports, it appears to me that the "franchise" with the most to lose is the AFL one.

The difference between the three is that the Titans and the Galaxy have to prove their financial credentials prior to being admitted to the competition. As opposed to the AFL team which will appear to be funded (or at least propped up) by the AFL themselves.

People seem to forget that after years of being an actual basket case (similar to the Brisbane Bears) the Chargers were actually in profit and improving at the time of their demise. They were nothing but a political victim of the SL war.

An AFL team on the Gold Coast will do nothing but suck money from the AFL or anyone else stupid enough to put money into it.
Just look at some of the financial issues:

No decent stadium - Carrara will require 10's of millions just to get it to a second rate standard.

Low membership - Due to Carrara only being a small ground, this will limit the amount of financial members. What will be a success in the AFL's eyes? 5000, 10,000? Surely this is not enough to be viable. Brisbane struggles to get much more than 20,000 in a market 5 times the size.

If the AFL wants to throw money away, can I have it instead?

 

[Funkalicous]

2 Winter sports. 2 Summer sports.

Should be fine, but the Galaxy could suffer once people get bored of the A-League's E-Class talent.

 

[KingsCrow]

History would tell you it would be an NRL team, but the NRL won't let the Titans fold. I think it will be the Blaze. Basketball is a dieing sport.


AFL team won't fold either. I have no idea how the A league team will go, no idea at all.

 

[Adrian Shelton]

Did the Diawa Dolphins go broke too or did the Japanese guys just take there money and go home?

 

[Ragnarok14]

Gold coast is a very different place demographic wise from what it was when it killed alot of sporting teams, plus the gold coast is alot bigger now too. The east coast aces didn't die because of where they were, the ARU decided they couldn't practically fund the whole competition.

The blaze will be fine, basketball teams here only need something like 1500 people attending to break even, everything else ontop of that is profit.

The titans are there to stay, I'm not a rugby league man but i've been impressed by how they've gone about setting themselves and their gold coast intiatives up.

The galaxy should be fine, stadium sharing with the titans, and close watching by the FFA means there shouldn't be any repeats of crazy owners a la the nsl days plus it faces little competition in the summer months and its not a big trek for away fans either which is a bonus.

The AFL team will struggle at first, probably because of the lack of a decent stadium and they'll be last in by a long way. I doubt they'll fold though, they might suck money like nobodys business but the AFL wont let them (similar to the nrl and a-league).

 

[McCrann]

Gold coast is a very different place demographic wise from what it was when it killed alot of sporting teams, plus the gold coast is alot bigger now too. The east coast aces didn't die because of where they were, the ARU decided they couldn't practically fund the whole competition.

The blaze will be fine, basketball teams here only need something like 1500 people attending to break even, everything else ontop of that is profit.

The titans are there to stay, I'm not a rugby league man but i've been impressed by how they've gone about setting themselves and their gold coast intiatives up.

The galaxy should be fine, stadium sharing with the titans, and close watching by the FFA means there shouldn't be any repeats of crazy owners a la the nsl days plus it faces little competition in the summer months and its not a big trek for away fans either which is a bonus.

The AFL team will struggle at first, probably because of the lack of a decent stadium and they'll be last in by a long way. I doubt they'll fold though, they might suck money like nobodys business but the AFL wont let them (similar to the nrl and a-league).

I wouldn't be so sure about the Gold Coast Blaze - today I hear news that the Sydney Kings are in danger of going out of business.

If the best team in the league can't even survive, I wouldn't give the Blaze much hope of being aruond in 10 years - if only because the whole NBL may implode!

 

[KingsCrow]

The NBL is in big big trouble. Alot of the teams are struggling money wise. They need to go through an overhaul like the soccer did.

 

[ChrisFooty]

The Titans are safe. No chance of folding, they have been an overnight success.

The AFL will be safe. Even if the AFL need to pump 20 million a year for the Gold Coast team, they can do that because they are rich enough.

I would say both the Gold Coast Galaxy and Blaze are the major worries. However, out of those two, the Galaxy appear a far greater chance of being a success. Basketball in this country is struggling.

 

[The Frederick]

The Titans are safe. No chance of folding, they have been an overnight success.

The AFL will be safe. Even if the AFL need to pump 20 million a year for the Gold Coast team, they can do that because they are rich enough.

I would say both the Gold Coast Galaxy and Blaze are the major worries. However, out of those two, the Galaxy appear a far greater chance of being a success. Basketball in this country is struggling.

If the AFL team will survive, so will the Galaxy. We're bankrolled by the second richest man in the country.

 

[HitEmHardFreo]

2 Winter sports. 2 Summer sports.

Should be fine, but the Galaxy could suffer once people get bored of the A-League's E-Class talent.

Speaking of which, what were the scores of the Final Session of German Team Training at the SFS tonight?

 

[relapse]

The AFL team wont die, the AFL will pump money into it until it works.

 

[Funkalicous]

Speaking of which, what were the scores of the Final Session of German Team Training at the SFS tonight?

Um... German? What?

 

[littleduck]

The Aces are hardly a fair example of Gold Coast sporting failures...The entire ARC, not just them, were wound up.

The Titans are massive on the Gold Coast and in surrounding communities, Especially Logan and Ipswich. Considering how frequently NRL trials and matches filled Carrara before their introduction, and their professional management, I can't see how they'll fail. They don't need any additional NRL support and have emerged purely as a grass roots entity, rather than part of NRL masterplan.

True.

NRL Gold Coast Titans are a bottom-up grassroots-driven phenomena.
AFL Gold Coast (team) will be a top-down money-driven approach.

(lets face it. The NRL's idea of a strategic plan is how much they can undersell the TV rights to News Corp for)

True.

If anything, a 27,500 seat stadium will prove to be their biggest handicap for growth.

True.

The Titans will always face the difficult question each season for the local derby as well as big-drawing Finals games..... whereas it would become a non-issue with a 40,000-seat venue.

I think there will always be the option of a 2nd tier on either side at some future point. I'm sure the architects and engineers will ensure that flexibility.

 

[jackmac7]

I reall don't know how the Galaxy will go. After all there is alot of hype around the A-league seing It's still pretty fresh and new. What's going to happen in 10 years when people start getting bored of the same poor standard it delivers every year. That will be a real test for the FFA and Frank Lowy if he's still alive in 10 years.

 

[The Frederick]

I reall don't know how the Galaxy will go. After all there is alot of hype around the A-league seing It's still pretty fresh and new. What's going to happen in 10 years when people start getting bored of the same poor standard it delivers every year. That will be a real test for the FFA and Frank Lowy if he's still alive in 10 years.

Why would the A-League still be the same standard? WE can import players from overseas, unlike AFL.

 

[Ragnarok14]

The 27K stadium saves a lot of costs.

Much better to pack out a 27K stadium than get 30-32K in a 50K stadium

 

[Sebastian Balboa]

Um... German? What?

I think he means what Socceroos coach Pim Verbeek said of the A-League here:

"If you train for three weeks with Nurnberg [Beauchamp] or with Karlsruhe [Kennedy], I have to be very honest, I still think that's better than playing A-League games," he said.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/football...-for-pim/2008/01/23/1201024992652.html?page=2

 

[jackmac7]

Why would the A-League still be the same standard? WE can import players from overseas, unlike AFL.

Because the only players you can import are amatuer brazilians that we have never heard of or washed up socceroos. Importing hacks doesn't improve the quality of your league. What about FRED the brazilian last year, he was the so called superstar of the A-league and he can't even get a show-in in Europe. He went from one crappy league to another in the U.S.A.

If it's shit now it will forever be shit. Just look at the MLS and how that has failed to take off after more than 10 years of shit Soccer players running around. Unless you can deliver the superstars of Europe to the A-league for us to go along and watch then we will treat it like the joke it is. I certainly don't want to watch a bunch of hacks run around.

If you want to know why the AFL, NFL and EPL get the best crowds in the world it's because they have the best of the best athletes playing in their leagues who can dazzle the crowds. The A-league does not have the entertainment value that the Socceroos can provide.

And the AFL can and has imported talent from overseas, but at least the AFL has the best talent going around every season unlike the A-league.

This is what happens when a Professional league starves of quality:

MLS Average Attendance
1996- 17,306
1997- 14,536
1998- 14,231
1999- 14,333
2000- 13,619
2001- 14,941
2002- 15,653
2003- 14,882
2004- 15,581
2005- 14,978
2006- 15,354
2007- 16,629

 

[Rob]

If the AFL team will survive, so will the Galaxy. We're bankrolled by the second richest man in the country.

And why would he put his own money into a private franchise owned by someone else?
The FFA might run it for a year or 2 if the private backers pull out, but that's going to depend on their finances at the time. Lowy is very unlikely to pump in his own dollars.

 

[jackmac7]

And why would he put his own money into a private franchise owned by someone else?
The FFA might run it for a year or 2 if the private backers pull out, but that's going to depend on their finances at the time. Lowy is very unlikely to pump in his own dollars.

How old is Frank Lowy anyway?

Will soccer slump back to where it was in this country if he bite's the dust in a couple of years?

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

The two big codes that will survive are the Rugby League/football Titans in Winter and the Soccer/football insert name in summer.

 

[ParraEelsNRL]

Considering AFL is more popular on the Gold Coast then Brisbane I would say your scared shitless. The AFL will go toe to toe with your Sport and it will be a battle of persistance, intiative and money something the NRL doesn't have. Not to mention the southport sharks will be a sound building platform for the AFL. Where has Soccer's love and support been for 10 years up there. Southport has been a success there already, and Auskick will be causing carnage for the Titans too.

Brisbane Broncos average 2007 34,008

Gold Coast Titans average 2007 18,352

North QLD Cowboys average 2007 20,105

North kangaroos average on the Gold Coast 200711,319

Brisbane Lions average 200728,848