Titans History

GOLD COAST RUGBY LEAGUE Professional rugby league has had a tumultuous history in this region - having had, then lost National Representation on three separate occasions. Despite this, the Gold Coast and surrounding region is a rugby league stronghold, with over 11,000 registered juniors, and a population now in excess of 500,000. In addition, the growth of South East Queensland over the past twenty years merits additional representation, with a total of 2.9 million people living in an area represented by only one club. The Northern Rivers District, Tweed and Gold Coasts have a rich rugby league heritage. In 1909 the first Rugby League club outside of Sydney was formed - the Tweed Heads Seagulls. Through its ongoing strong focus on junior development, this club played a major role in laying the platform for the development of rugby league in the region. In 1988 the premier National rugby league competition, the New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) further delivered on their vision to expand the game by granting the Gold Coast Tweed Giants a licence to play in the national competition. It was just two years earlier that the first club outside of NSW was formed – the Brisbane Broncos. In 1990, the hugely successful Tweed Heads Seagulls tendered a bid to buy the Gold Coast licence. They won and became the Gold Coast Seagulls. Despite a strong recruitment drive that attracted such marquees players as Wally Lewis, Dale Shearer and Brent Todd, the team was plagued by poor performances and in 1995, the Tweed Heads Seagulls withdrew financial support for the club. Although a private owner was briefly sought, the final outcome saw the Australian Rugby League take control of the licence and form the Gold Coast Chargers. The onset of the Super League war in 1995 shook Rugby League in this country to its foundations. Ironically, this period coincided with a significant turnaround in the fortunes of the Gold Coast franchise. During the Super League war the Chargers were a success story - recording massive crowd numbers and enjoying substantial support from the Gold Coast community. Buoyed by this, the Chargers turned in impressive performances on the field – reaching the semi-final stage of the competition in 1997. In addition, the Chargers were the only team in the competition to record a profit during this period – despite the ARL providing only annual licensing, severely limiting the team’s ability to retain talent and sponsorship. The initial breakthrough in the Super League dispute came at the end of the 1997 season. In a deal brokered by the feuding parties, News Limited and the ARL, the 1998 season saw the two competitions combined and administered as the National Rugby League, with each party having equal representation on the board. However, ongoing pressure to reduce the number of teams in the competition ensued. Poor on-field performances plagued the Chargers in the 1998 season. Despite continued investment in junior development, large crowd figures and a cash-up trading equity, the club’s directors were unable to negotiate a much-needed merger with the South-Queensland Crushers or the Hunter Mariners. As administrators of the Gold Coast licence, the ARL was forced to disband the team in a compromise with News Limited that also saw the Western Reds and Adelaide Rams removed from the competition. FROM CHARGERS TO TITANS, THE STORY SINCE 1998 In March 1999, the Gold Coast Bid team was formed. Michael Searle, Managing Director of International Sports Australia undertakes the responsibility of formulating a strategic and financial plan for admission to the NRL. Chaired by rugby league heavyweight Paul Broughton, the bid team was consistently active in lobbying the NRL to both expand the competition and consider the Gold Coast’s bid for inclusion. In the 6 years that the Gold Coast Bid Team was established, they presented a compelling case to the NRL. The business plan was lauded by NRL board member and Sydney Roosters Chairman Nick Politis as the most comprehensive document ever seen in Australian professional sport. Ernst and Young and the Gold Coast City Council Planning and Economic department also reviewed the document favourably. The trial matches hosted from 2002-2005 served as the platform for conveying community support for a Gold Coast team to the NRL. According to National Rugby League Chief Executive David Gallop, “Trial games are an opportunity for people to vote with their feet. The response the Gold Coast gets to those games is certainly one of the things we would look at”. With average attendances of over 16,000, and peak attendances topping 20,000, the NRL could not dispute the popularity of live rugby league on the Gold Coast, and must have been satisfied of the team’s ability to fulfil this particular criterion. The consortium also secured investors who are backing the team to the tune of $15 million. Ian Buchanan, the Gold Coast Titans’ Manager of Operations has stated that this is ‘over and above’ the operating costs of a new club. A significant hurdle facing the Consortium, and one that had to be overcome to secure our licence - was the requirement for an upgraded stadium for the Gold Coast Rugby League team. The Bid Team lobbied Local, State and Federal Governments for funding to upgrade the outdated facility at Carrara. They were successful in securing this, but more importantly, were also able to gain a guarantee from the State Government for the construction of a purpose built facility at a site in Robina. Work on the new stadium is expected to commence at the end of 2005, and be ready for play by the start of the 2008 NRL season. Republished by permission and courtesy of the Gold Coast Titans (titans.com.au)

 

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