Gold Coast Stingray’s $70,000 plea for support amidst budget blow

The Australian city chosen by the NFL as its Asia-Pacific headquarters is at risk of losing its only gridiron club as pleas for financial relief from the Queensland government continue to fall on deaf ears. Full story inside:

Gold Coast Stingrays players James Booth with Lance Tongakilo at training at Nerang. Picture Glenn Hampson

The Australian city chosen by the NFL as its Asia-Pacific headquarters is at risk of losing its only gridiron club as pleas for financial relief from the Queensland government continue to fall on deaf ears.

Less than two months after the NFL announced its 10-year commitment to the Gold Coast venture via an academy based at A.B Patterson College the sport in the region is on life support.

Gold Coast Stingrays officials have revealed they are scrambling to secure its future in the short term and risk collpase after being overlooked for funding in the state government’s 2024/25 budget.

It has come despite the Gold Coast being a proven breeding ground for NFL talent, with former Suns AFL player Patrick Murtagh and Tweed Seagulls rugby league player Jothan Russell both joining US teams recently.

The Queensland Government is also expected to have its coffers filled due to the increased marketing exposure the NFL academy will bring but not a cent will be invested to ensure the survival of the sport at grassroots level.

The Stingrays currently have around 150 players registered but need to drastically increase those numbers soonor risk not being able to run the club.

“Because we’ve received no grants, sponsorship is so hard to come by,” Stingrays Secretary Sera Schultz said just 18 days out from preseason.

“We are struggling to increase our numbers because we’re not getting help.”

Gold Coast Stingrays workhorse Sera Schultz

With player gear and uniforms costing upwards of $1500 per athlete, the club is having to ask members to pay their own way just to keep afloat.

“Our sport is probably the most expensive in terms of actual equipment,” she said.

“Without a grant, we’re either putting people in unsafe equipment or turning players away.

“At the end of the day it’s got to be about safety.”

This year the Stingrays have three teams competing for the club and are hoping to reintroduce the women’s side. Without external support it’s unlikely to go ahead.

“We’ve done as much promotion as we possibly can.

“Feeding into social media, going to and running events to drum up sponsorship and get our name out there,” Schultz said.

“We’ve run smaller competitions and raffles just to let people know we’re here.”
Arguably the home of gridiron in the southeast, Stingrays are yet to secure their own home ground and have been bounced between Nerang Roosters Rugby League and Nerang Bulls Rugby Union in recent years.

“We feel like the second cousin.

“We have no storage facility at (Bulls). Instead it’s spread across the Gold Coast because we can’t store our gear anywhere accessible.”

At the moment the Stingrays are not permitted to use Nerang’s indoor facilities and have been forced to use a changing room that doesn’t have running water to the sink.

“You have to wash your hands outside and there’s no lock on the door.

“We currently have mums and kids sharing with men for the one toilet,” she said.

“It’s not ideal but we have no other choice since council keep putting blocks in our way every time.

“We don’t have a home.”

Gold Coast Stingrays players have been used as extras in the Young Rock tv show. Club captain Lance Tongakilo actually worked as his stunt double. Stingray and film extra James Booth with Lance Tongakilo at training at Nerang. Picture Glenn Hampson

Geographically, the next closest gridiron club is the Logan City Bears situated between the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Having a home base to store equipment isn’t the end of the Stingrays’ problems, with the cost of lighting for training and games through the season notching up to a staggering $7800.

“We’re being charged $35 to $40 an hour and training four hours a night.

“By the time you have two trainings and a playing night across our 25 week season, it certainly does add up,” Schultz said.

“I think it’s a numbers game, because we are a small sport … not as big in the community compared to others.

“We’re just not big enough, and we’re overlooked because of that.

“Hopefully this year we’ll grow a little bit, but we’re one club across the whole Gold Coast where rugby league probably has 100 players in 1 club with 20 to 30 clubs out there.

“We need at least $70,000 for lighting, gear and equipment,” she said.

A breakdown of budget spends in the Logan, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and surrounding region show multimillion-dollar projects being lined up for community sport but none are pegged for the Gold Coast.

Noah Parker,who once played Grid Iron in college with Tom Brady, finds out about NFL australian style as a shoeless Jaylan Amor 17 and Kobi Rayner 16 set out to bring down the giant american during a training session with students from Men of Business Academy at Broadwater Parklands. Picture Glenn Hampson

$10,000 – less than one tenth of the cheapest southeast project – would cover the cost of lighting for an entire season and contribute to new gear, but receiving an equal grant as the likes of Jimboomba Football ($217,000) or Peninsula and Districts Football and Sporting Club ($180,852) could be club-saving.

“$100,000 would be amazing because we would be able to get new equipment that’s not falling apart, we wouldn’t have to tape up bits and pieces.

“A million dollars would at least put us in a position to have grounds which could work for us,” Schulz said.

“I don’t think it’s too much to ask … to give a club that’s been around for almost 40 years an actual home.”

Originally published as Gold Coast Stingray’s $70,000 plea for support amidst budget blow