Suburb with best seats
Southport residents will be in the thick of the action for the Games
IF you live in Southport you could have front row seats to the all the after-party action of the Commonwealth Games – that’s what the locals in town believe anyway.
They reckon living and working within arm’s reach of athletes is the equivalent of a backstage pass if you’re a Southport local.
Retailers, students and residents are excited to be among the action in April.
International students at Browns English Language School will be working in the Commonwealth Games village as part of their school program.
Managing director Richard Brown said travel wouldn’t be a major issue for his students.
“They all catch the train, the G:Link and even ride skateboards in so I don’t think traffic will be a problem,” he said.
Although the Southport Bowls Club will not be running any Games competition events, it will be a meeting point for many English athletes, according to bar manager Patty Muntz.
“It’s one of those places on the Coast where the public can be in the same room as an athlete and you don’t need a ticket,” she said.
“We are serving drinks throughout the Games but upstairs will be fenced off as an exclusive area for the athletes and their family members.
“It’s the British that we will host here because a lot of their family can’t see or stay with them at the Games village.”
The Commonwealth Games Association of England began negotiating in 2015 to make the Southport club the base for the team, its management and supporters.
Businesses around China Town have been warned by Australia Fair management that “Southport is expected to “We are a bit apprehensive about how it will all work and how all these new people in town will affect us. Staffing wise, it will be a bit difficult.” be busier than normal”.
Globe Health Club in Scarborough St has some of the best views of where live artists and flash mobs will be positioned, but the seats come in the form of gym equipment.
Owner Tim Metcalf, who has run the gym since 2014, said while the business had been warned about how busy the Games would be, he wasn’t going to “put sandbags out”.
“They can only warn us so much but in reality we have no