Large crowds at opening of new Westfield at Coomera Town Centre in northern Gold Coast

THERE were long lines at every entrance to the Gold Coast’s newest shopping centre as Westfield Coomera, the first stage of the Coomera Town Centre, opened its doors to the public this morning. SEE THE VIDEO

UPDATE: Police and traffic management have guided cars into the Westfield Coomera shopping centre this evening in an attempt to avoid traffic congestion.

Officers placed cones in front of the entrances to the centre and only opened them up when there was enough space for cars to move through.

If one of the entrances were closed, workers would redirect them to another entrance.

It meant motorists were able to drive to the centre smoothly and with little delay.

It comes after there were traffic jams earlier this morning as motorists filed into the carpark of the shopping centre.

A traffic management plan was implemented at Coomera Westfield this afternoon following traffic chaos this morning. Photo by Richard Gosling

EARLIER: HUGE crowds gathered at Westfield Coomera this morning as the Gold Coast’s newest shopping centre opened its doors for the first time.

Long lines of shoppers snaked from every entrance to the centre, with some having waited for more than an hour for the grand opening.

Construction workers and staff could be seen frantically adding the final touches to stores before welcoming their first customers shortly after 9am.

Workers add finishing touches before the opening of the Westfield Coomera at Coomera Town Centre.

Mulch and plants were still being added to the gardens of the $470 million development before 7am this morning.

Workers were joined by customers hoping to catch a first glimpse of the stores, who began filling some of the 2100 car spaces at the centre from early this morning.

GALLERY: Coomera Town Centre opening

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An official ribbon cutting ceremony was hosted at the ‘Backyard’ at 10am.

Fireworks to celebrate the opening are also scheduled for tonight and tomorrow night.

Westfield Coomera will offer 140 specialty retail stores, including Coles, Woolworths, Kmart, Target, JB Hi-Fi, Rebel and Event Cinemas with Gold Class.

Workers arriving for the opening of the new Westfield Coomera at Coomera Town Centre.

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Janine Shaw and Mirjana Kolaric were patiently waiting out the front of the new Westfield Coomera in the hope of scoring some of the opening day freebies on offer.

The pair, who usually shop at Westfield Helensvale, said they were excited to see the new development for the first time.

“We wanted to see it, it’s modern and different so we thought why not,” Ms Shaw said.

Mirjana Kolaric and Janine Shaw waited for more han an hour for the opening of Westfield Coomera. Picture: Kirstin Payne

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Ms Kolaric, who lives in Parkwood, said she was hoping to get one of the free coffees.

“We actually took the train here to see how it was, it was actually really convenient and we didn’t want to pay for parking,” she said.

1500 staff have been involved in the construction of the 59,000sqm centre.