TonyK
Tash Jayasinghe
CibbuanoGold Coast to play at home
November 18th 2008 07:02
THE new Gold Coast team will be able to play in front of its own fans when it enters the AFL in 2011 after the league was able to negotiate its way out of its previous agreement with the Queensland Government that any second team based in the state had to play home games at the Gabba in Brisbane until the end of 2015.
Under the new deal, the Gold Coast team will still have to play its home game against Brisbane at the Gabba until 2015 but will be able to play all its remaining home games at Carrara.
The league has also guaranteed the Gabba the right to stage the Easter Thursday night match until 2020 while the Lions will also be given the opportunity to play an extra game
in Brisbane each year until 2020 by convincing another club to sell a home game to them.
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou admitted it was clear 'the Gold Coast community has thrown its support behind GC17' but said the league still wants more details before formally granting the license.
"This is a generational decision for Australian football and the AFL commission is committed to making prudent financial decisions based on a complete and proper process and a clear understanding of the current economic situation," he said.
GC17 chairman John Witheriff said he was confident that his consortium will soon be granted the license to become the competition's 17th team.
"The Gold Coast community have demonstrated to the AFL that we want our own AFL team and that the Gold Coast Football Club has the foundations for success," he said.
"We understand the AFL still has some work to do before making a final decision on the license and we remain extremely confident of a positive outcome for the Gold Coast."
Under the new deal, the Gold Coast team will still have to play its home game against Brisbane at the Gabba until 2015 but will be able to play all its remaining home games at Carrara.
The league has also guaranteed the Gabba the right to stage the Easter Thursday night match until 2020 while the Lions will also be given the opportunity to play an extra game
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou admitted it was clear 'the Gold Coast community has thrown its support behind GC17' but said the league still wants more details before formally granting the license.
"This is a generational decision for Australian football and the AFL commission is committed to making prudent financial decisions based on a complete and proper process and a clear understanding of the current economic situation," he said.
GC17 chairman John Witheriff said he was confident that his consortium will soon be granted the license to become the competition's 17th team.
"The Gold Coast community have demonstrated to the AFL that we want our own AFL team and that the Gold Coast Football Club has the foundations for success," he said.
"We understand the AFL still has some work to do before making a final decision on the license and we remain extremely confident of a positive outcome for the Gold Coast."
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