BRING IT HERE ONCE A YEAR
If we want to host an NRL game again, we’re going to have to do a lot better
MAYOR Paul Antonio has ramped up his bid to secure an annual NRL match in the Garden City, but issues have been raised by the public about how Sunday’s game was handled.
MAYOR Paul Antonio has ramped up his bid to secure an annual NRL match in the Garden City, but issues have been raised by the public about how Sunday’s game was handled.
The Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra Dragons put on an electrifying show at Clive Berghofer Stadium on Sunday, however many fans found themselves still waiting to get inside even after the 2pm kick-off.
Organisers say a combination of logistic issues and a lack of a curtain-raiser game created long lines for entry, food and alcohol.
Many people among the record crowd of 7800 also waited for extended periods to get food and drink at either the vans or at the canteen underneath the grandstand.
“When it takes over 40 minutes to get a drink something isn’t right,” Sid Cronk wrote on the Chronicle’s Facebook page.
“It took longer than that to get in. We missed 10-15 minutes of the game,” Melody Ryan added.
The Toowoomba Regional Council was charged with handling patron access to the venue, while food and beverage service was managed by Supa Catering.
Mr Antonio’s argument to NRL CEO Andrew Abdo will be that Toowoomba can host a regular fixture as professionally as any other city.
The mayor acknowledged the crowd problems, saying the council would review the match to find ways to improve the experience.
“There were learnings yesterday and we will have learnt a lot from this game,” he said.
“I think in terms of the management, we’ll be having a briefing with all people concerned in the future.
“As part of the match, council provided traffic management and waste management services, with all other elements delivered in partnership between the NRL and the Toowoomba Sports Ground.”
Supa Catering owner Joe Ramia said his team were taken aback at the sheer number of patrons at the game, adding the company would do things differently next time.
“With a big crowd like that, it’s hard to have catering vans and what happened is because of the size of the crowd, we had one line overlapping another,” he said.
“If we were to get another game, we’d look at more food vans and we’d bring more energy generators.
“The sheer volume made it hard when you have canteens built with a certain amount of equipment for smaller crowds.”
Mr Ramia said adding a curtain-raiser match, which wasn’t allowed as part of the arrangement, would’ve spread out the crowd entering the stadium.
Toowoomba police praised the public for remaining calm despite the long lines.