Path cleared for Gold Coast Turf Club chief to oversee changes

REAPPOINTED Gold Coast Turf Club chairman Brett Cook says his current tenure will be the most critical of all.

Brett Cook, chairman of the Gold Coast Turf Club. Photo: Spence Consulting

REAPPOINTED Gold Coast Turf Club chairman Brett Cook says his current tenure will be the most critical of all.

Cook, Luke Henderson and Simon Quinn were re-elected to the nine-person board unopposed this week for a further three years.

Cook said having their positions confirmed allowed them to pursue plans to improve the club’s infrastructure and enhance partnerships that now included naming-rights sponsor Aquis Farm.

Among the club’s plans are:

■ A $4 million development of its training and stable facility Traintech.

■ A revamp of Aquis Park that will include a hotel and residential property.

■ Track upgrades, including an $8 million light installation, a synthetic polytrack and redevelopment of the “Dome” entertainment venue, betting ring and carpark.

Work on each project is expected to begin in the next three years.

Cook said the upcoming two years were the most important period in the club’s ­recent history.

“Having the appointments happen gives you the breathing space to confidently go ahead and do what we are planning to do,” he said.

“The things we have on the radar, if we can get them up and running within the next 48 months it should make our club self-sustainable for the long term and that’s what it’s all about.”

Cook said it was rewarding to be part of the club’s improved standing after watching it battle in his initial years.

“I have been there 10 years now and the first half-dozen were a real battle,” Cook said.

“With the planning we have done in the last three to four years behind the scenes we are at the point where we can start going out and getting things planned and funded.

“My long-term goal is to get the infrastructure funding approved and get some commercial development next door with the hotel which hopefully we can get up and running in the next two years.”

Henderson and Quinn have been board members since the end of 2011.