REMEMBER WHEN

GOLD COAST BULLETIN Monday, June 6, 2005

COUNCIL dithering could cost the Gold Coast its hardfought rugby league team, it was feared.

That would be the worstcase scenario, according to Coast consortium managing director Michael Searle.

The National Rugby League would have been forced to make the Coast’s new team to play its homes games at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium, said Mr Searle.

The consortium, which waged a six-year battle to bring rugby league back to the Gold Coast, was worried its fight would be lost if the council continued to delay a decision on where to place a new football stadium.

”The licence agreement is quite clear, that if our facility is not ready, or is not adequate, they (the NRL) can move us to a venue to be decided,” said Mr Searle.

”We want to play that first season here. If it looks as though Robina will not be ready they will say to us — they have the power and I am not saying they would — but they have the power for two things.

”One, not give us the licence and actually exclude us because we have defaulted or our city has defaulted on the agreement to provide a stadium, or the more likely scenario would be to play out of Suncorp.”

Mr Searle said the consortium and the NRL had planned for the team’s first season, 2007, to be played out of the existing Carrara facility while the new stadium was being built.

However, he said the new stadium must be ready for the 2008 season.