GC17
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
GC17 is the working title of a team bidding to enter a 17th club in the Australian Football League. The club is likely to enter in the league in 2011 season.[1] A three-man committee of former Brisbane Lions chairman Graham Downie, Southport Sharks director Allan McKenzie and lawyer and community leader John Witheriff will establish the club's administration.[2] As part of the AFL bid criteria, the GC17 consortium required a commitment from 20,000 locals to become football club members, a $5 million net asset base and 111 sponsors (at least one major, 10 secondary level and 100 tertiary) by mid-October 2008.[3]
It is likely the Southport Sharks will take heavy involvement in the establishment of the club and Gold Coast FC may even adopt the Sharks nickname.[citation needed]
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[edit] History
- See also: Australian rules football in Queensland
In 1987, the AFL - or VFL as it was then known - established the Brisbane Bears as its first expansion team in Queensland. At the end of the 1996 season, the Bears merged with the Fitzroy Lions, re-emerging in 1997 as the Brisbane Lions. The Bears were actually based on the Gold Coast for most of their short history. They played at the Carrara Oval for six seasons, not moving to the Gabba in central Brisbane until 1993.
In 2006, the Kangaroos agreed to play three matches on the Gold Coast in 2007 which fuelled speculation the club was preparing to relocate to the Gold Coast by 2010. The Kangaroos were seen as the most likely Melbourne-based club to relocate because of their small membership and poor financial position.
In December 2007, the AFL offered the Kangaroos a multi-million dollar relocation package to encourage a move to the Gold Coast. The Kangaroos rejected the offer and the AFL announced it would instead establish its own side on the Gold Coast, possibly as soon as 2009. In January 2008, the AFL officially registered the name Gold Coast Football Club Ltd with ASIC.[4] In March 2008, the AFL won the support of the league's 16 club presidents to establish a side on the Gold Coast and an 18th side in Western Sydney.
AFL CEO Andrew Demetriou announced in early 2008 that the club could debut in the Queensland State League in 2009 as it recruits players and prepares for its debut season in the AFL, possibly 2011. and its also rumored that Michael Voss will coach the Gold Coast Team and has been offered a 6-year contract [5]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/clubs-fasttrack-two-new-entries/2008/03/13/1205126110889.html Gleeson M, Clubs fast-track new entrants, The Age, accessed 14 March 2008
- ^ http://www.realfooty.com.au/articles/2008/03/13/1205126110877.html Wilson C, Silence from presidents means 18-team AFL, The Age, accessed 14 March 2008
- ^ Gold Coast positive it can snare 17th AFL licence | Herald Sun
- ^ http://www.realfooty.com.au/articles/2008/03/13/1205126110877.html Wilson C, Silence from presidents means 18-team AFL, The Age, accessed 14 March 2008
- ^ Gold Coast to play in 2009 - realfooty.com.au
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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