‘BEST THING FOR COAST IN YEARS’
WHY AN AFL HUB COULD SPARK NEW ERA
DON’T let the South Australian or West Australian footy clubs read this but a Gold Coast AFL hub could be the best thing to happen to the game in southeast Queensland in years.
The AFL’s plan to resume its season in mid-June hit a roadblock in May when the WA and SA governments put a handbrake on a proposed flyin-fly-out model.
But then the Gold Coast came to the rescue and now West Coast, Fremantle, Adelaide and Port Adelaide will pack their bags and base themselves at the Royal Pines or Palm Meadows resorts for the foreseeable future.
It’s an unprecedented move in unprecedented times but despite some of the clubs claiming “hub life” will serve their season ambitions well, I’m predicting Queensland Aussie rules will be the big winner.
The AFL has been gifted a golden opportunity to shape the sporting discourse in southeast Queensland and while things like participation and engagement have visibly improved since the advent of the Suns 10 years ago, this latest chapter could just about solidify their future.
While Queensland has long been considered a “rugby league state” where AFL is considered as an afterthought, the hubs could see Aussie rules get the jump on the NRL, especially as the Titans have been forced to play out of Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane for the next two months.
Instead of playing home to one struggling AFL franchise, the Coast will now host five teams, four of which could have a genuine crack at finals.
HUBS COULD SEE FOOTY GET THE JUMP ON THE NRL.”
Metricon Stadium will go from staging one game a fortnight to potentially three or four every weekend.
There’s no better endorsement for the Coast than tuning in on TV and seeing winter footy played under blue skies and basking sunlight.
Mayor Tom Tate has estimated the economic input of hubs to our city would be more than $5 million.
But immeasurable is the impact of aspiring footy players seeing Nic Naitanui ducking under waves at Broadbeach or Rory Sloane having a casual kick at a local oval.