BIG GAME HUNTING
Plan to bring T20 clash to GC ahead of Big Bash bid
THE Gold Coast is on the brink of hosting international cricket at Metricon Stadium as a push continues for regular Big Bash fixtures at the venue.
A T20 international is now increasingly likely, the Bulletin understands, with ongoing talks between state and local government, Cricket Queensland and Cricket Australia.
A drop-in pitch – costing almost $1 million – would be used for cricket, costing between $50,000 to $100,000 to get in and out of the stadium each time it is used, the Bulletin understands.
THE Gold Coast is on the brink of hosting international cricket at Metricon Stadium as a push continues for regular Big Bash fixtures at the venue.
A T20 international is now increasingly likely, the Bulletin understands, with ongoing talks between state and local government, Cricket Queensland and Cricket Australia.
The Gold Coast Suns, which have a 25-year lease for use of the venue for AFL, are integral to the deal because the football club carries the bulk of financial risk associated with hosting matches.
A drop-in pitch – costing near $1 million – would be used for cricket, costing between $50,000 to $100,000 to get in and out each time, the Bulletin understands.
It is proposed those costs would be shared three ways – a third by the Gold Coast Suns, a third by Cricket Australia and Cricket Queensland and a third by State and local government.
A lighting upgrade at the venue for the recent Commonwealth Games has also made night cricket much more feasible, another city legacy from the sporting extravaganza.
A source close to the talks told the Bulletin there was a “real good chance” of a T20 international – a high-octane 20-overs-aside format – at the ground this season.
Suns chairman Tony Cochrane last night said it was no secret the Suns had been trying to bring Big Bash games to Metricon but he wouldn’t comment on the T20 international.
“We are getting pretty close with an international – but there is a way to go for Big Bash because of the costs associated with the stadium,” he said.
“We are still working to get the costs at the stadium under control to get regular Big Bash games there. We haven’t solved the Big Bash issue yet.
“The risk profile rests with the Gold Coast football club and at the moment the risk profile is too extreme with the costs associated with running of the stadium.”
Told last night about a T20 International pitching up ahead of hoped-for regular Big Bash fixtures in future, Deputy Mayor Donna Gates said: “The City has already committed to a significant financial contribution for permanent infrastructure to bring cricket to the Gold Coast and is considering further assistance.
“Further details will be provided when we are in a position to advise.”
Last week, bosses at the Suns joined the Gold Coast Titans rugby league franchise to give a verbal spray to Labor Minister Mick de Brenni. He had earlier claimed the clubs’ financial woes were the result of onfield results.
The Gold Coast Suns insist they have made repeated pushes for a more commercially viable deal at Metricon Stadium, while the Titans have claimed they pay about $500,000 a year more in Government fees than rival clubs in NSW.
The last time the Gold Coast hosted international cricket saw England play Queensland at Carrara in 1991.
England’s David Gower and John Morris flew into hot water when they left the match for a half-hour joy flight after Morris was dismissed for 132 and Gower for 13.
The flight buzzed the ground and despite the ire of team management, Morris said it was the best thing he had done on the Gold Coast – along with the century he’d cracked.