Furious Titans talking tough
FED up Titans chief executive Graham Annesley says the ongoing stadium saga is threatening the NRL club’s future but has vowed to do everything possible to not take matches away from the Gold Coast.
AFL’s Suns and NRL’s Titans last night offered a frank riposte to Sports Minister Mick de Brenni over claims a lack of on-field success – not exorbitant stadium fees – is behind the franchises’ fiscal concerns.
The ongoing stadium saga led to suggestions that the Titans could take home games to regional areas such as the Sunshine Coast and Toowoomba in a bid to avoid excessive Cbus Super Stadium hire costs.
Annesley moved to assure supporters he would do everything possible to keep the Titans in front of local fans.
“Cbus is our home ground – that’s where we want to play our home games, that’s where our fans want to see us play,” he told the Bulletin last night.
“We’re going to do everything we can to try to reach an agreement with the government that allows that to happen and allows that to happen at commercial rates that are reasonable and fair.”
The NRL club have been operating on game-by-game deals with Stadiums Queensland for the past three years, with a long-term agreement unable to be reached.
Annesley said that must change as the Titans strive to shore up their place in the city and in the game itself to avoid following the mass of Glitter Strip sporting teams that have previously collapsed.
“We have seen countless Gold Coast sporting franchises fail in the past and we’re determined that that’s not going to happen with the Titans but it (the stadium saga) is obviously a major cost impact on our sustainability,” he said.
“We’re not looking for a handout from anybody. We just simply want to pay what we believe to be commercial rates to hire the stadium.
“We’re as anxious as anyone to try to lock away something long-term so we’re not dealing with this on a constant basis but we can only enter into an agreement that we believe is fair and reasonable.”
In a statement released last night, the Titans declared the club were being ripped off to the tune of nearly $500,000 a year compared to rivals using comparable facilities in NSW.
They also denied they were at an advantage due to Stadiums Queensland’s upfront rates model, noting their only game-day income is sourced from memberships plus corporate and ticket sales – with no profit made from areas such as catering.