Gold Coast to be sporting capital with push for new high performance training centre

The council wants to create a sports excellence hub. Here is a steer on the best location

The Gold Coast Titans need a new home with their Parkwood base to be redeveloped into a wave park. The timing is perfect with council seeking expressions of interest in a sports excellence hub.

Where will our Gold Coast NRL team land? There’s a much bigger sporting story to be told here.

At the City’s lifestyle committee, councillors had first booted out the door a report recommending a high performance centre and training facility in the Carrara precinct. They wanted more information before giving it the tick.

Committee chair Glenn Tozer after the meeting, aware of the Titans community work in his hinterland division, asked questions about the club’s potential interest in the precinct which includes the Emerald Lakes Parklands.

Cr Tozer had worked with the Titans during NAIDOC week, and with disabled students.

Cr Glenn Tozer — sought more information on the Titans, leading to vote turning around to push for a high performance centre expressions of interest campaign. Picture: John Gass.

“They do incredible work with the Mudgeeraba Special School. They are in my backyard all the time,” he told your columnist.

Titans CEO Steve Mitchell sent a brief outlining the clubs involvement in the KINETIC Titans Schools League, one of the largest school-based competitions in Australia.

“The competition is run at Alabaster Fields at Carrara each Monday - 1700 people are in attendance each week - this includes 1200 student athletes who compete in the competition and 500 additional, comprising of coaches, support staff and family members,” he wrote.

The Titans and their CEO Steve Mitchell are looking for a new home, with the NRL team likely to depart their Parkwood base due to become a wave park.

“High schools from across the region compete with students from years 7-12. All nine fields of the Alabaster complex are in use with consecutive games for up to four hours at a time.”

At Carrara Indoor Sports Stadium, the Gold Coast Titans operate their netball program.

“Our home games regularly sell out, with more than 1300 tickets issued per event. Now in our third season, the Titans continue to break Netball Queensland’s attendance records and hold the top five largest crowds in the competition’s history,” Mr Mitchell wrote.

So as fans or members we know the Titans currently are wooden spooners. But along with councillors and officers, we don’t know or get to applaud their Carrara community work.

On Tuesday at full council, councillors voted to support the expression of interests campaign.

The door is not just open to the Titans but Magic United Football with its soccer base.

This sporting picture is much longer than a 100m footy field.

Picture of the fields between Lakeside Drive and Nerang-Broadbeach Road which has been previously earmarked as the location of a high performance athletics centre. Picture: Glenn Campbell.

The message from the City is to all sporting groups. All future precincts will be considered.

We are talking Carey Park at Southport, the likely home for an indoor sporting stadium. Add to that Pizzey Park at Miami and Firth Park at Mudgeeraba.

In the mix are basketball, baseball, skating and squash. The scope is not just local or interstate but think global. Remember the recent NFL academy announcement?

Going back to the beginning, building the Titans and the Suns was about creating a storyline for the Gold Coast beyond beaches, meter maids and visitors discarding their white shoes.

The Suns are a bright light this season, the Titans a work in progress but in school and community sports, they ensure our city is winning. This new centre will be the next step.

Follow @PaulWestonGC 

 

Originally published as Gold Coast to be sporting capital with push for new high performance training centre