Gold Coast Titans: Council to tender for high performance centre at Carrara
The Titans are set to get a new home as the Gold Coast City Council goes to tender for a new high performance training facility in a surprising location.
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The Titans could find a new future home with the Gold Coast City Council to go to tender for a high performance training facility.
In a stunning turnaround, councillors are expected at Tuesday’s full council meeting to tick off on a recommendation to seek expressions of interest at sites in the Coast’s sporting heartland.
The decision will see council seek offers for a high-performance sports facility at Emerald Lakes Parklands and a high performance training field at the Gold Coast Sports Precinct.
The Titans have a significant investment in junior football and netball at Carrara hosting competitions for thousands of children.
Councillors at a lifestyle committee meeting last week went into closed session and debated an officer’s report on the matter for more than an hour. They later stalled the tender process.
But 48 hours of negotiations followed, where they were updated on the NRL side’s investment in junior sport in the precinct – and this critical information has changed their minds.
“The proposal to put a high performance training centre in the Carrara precinct is definitely alive,” a council source said.
“The Titans have significant programs in the Carrara precinct and they’ve indicated to us they intend to express interest. Other entities might as well, but the Titans are well placed due to the magnitude of the programs they are running there.”
Lifestyle committee chair Glenn Tozer said some councillors at committee had concerns about future high performance training centre interests being in conflict with other activities.
Others like new councillor Dan Doran, had abstained from voting, wanting more details in the officer’s report.
“Since committee it has become clearer to me and probably my colleagues that there is a strong market interest in high performance training for a variety of different sports,” Cr Tozer said.
“I expect on Tuesday the committee’s recommendation to be adjusted to reflect a renewed confidence in delivering a high performance training centre at Emerald Lakes.”
The NRL club hosts community programs with junior football at Carrara’s Alabaster fields and netball at the Carrara Sports Centre, and it needs a bigger base.
Titans CEO Steve Mitchell said the club had a strong relationship with its Parkwood owners but needed to consider its future expansion.
“The Titans have outgrown our current home, with our footprint across multiple sports meaning we need to look at long-term options for where our high-performance and industry leading community programs can be housed,” he said.
“Over the past three years in particular, the Titans have grown to now have NRL, NRLW, Netball, Junior elite and disability athlete programs running in parallel from our Parkwood base.
“We have a great relationship with the owners of our current facility at Parkwood, they have been true partners of the Club and we are grateful for their support.
“We continue to talk through the possible future development of the site to accommodate our growth, likewise with the City of Gold Coast and others as we explore the best possible options for an expanded site moving forward.”
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