- Aug 15, 2000
- 2,691
- 205
- AFL Club
- Sydney
- Other Teams
- S’roos, Brisbane Lions, N Syd Bears
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.
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.